Love Anthology
by Angelikah
Summary: My safe for work drabbles from my tumblr (thetourguidebarbie).
1. Family Dinner Night

**A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to the new safe for work drabble series :) My NSFW drabbles will go in the other series, which will be called "These Hands"**

 **Unlike in Their Things, each chapter will be one drabble.** **Some of these will be sequels to a piece in Their Things, and if so, it will be labeled accordingly.**

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 **Could you write something where Caroline tries to have a nice family dinner for Christmas or Thanksgiving or something but obviously it doesn't happen. Including Klaroline, Kalijah, Rebekah, Kol (all in their proper bodies and alive as it should be) and whoever else you want.**

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Caroline heard the loud series of crashes, counted to ten slowly in her head, and walked into the dining room, bracing herself for a smashed casserole dish or two and maybe a broken bottle of wine. The reality, however, was much worse.

Rebekah was on the hardwood floor, head bent at an odd angle, shards of glass in her skin, wine staining her blonde hair. Kol was standing over her, holding the other half of the bottle, grinning widely and hissing something in a foreign language, most likely their native one, that Caroline had heard Klaus and Rebekah converse in quickly when they didn't want Caroline to overhear (usually about birthday presents or surprises, as Elijah informed her quietly one night when she was stressing about it).

Katherine was pressed against the wall behind Elijah, who seemed to be shielding her from the chaos. Bonnie and Kol were on their "off again" stage, so Caroline knew she hadn't been coming, which left Enzo as her only fellow Mystic Falls-ian, and he had retreated into the other room (rather wisely, in Caroline's opinion).

And then there was Klaus.

Klaus, who was sitting there doing absolutely nothing to stop the pandemonium surrounding him, simply sipping from his glass of most likely blood-laced brandy and watching.

"I just wanted one dinner," she hissed, her voice quiet and dangerous.

She knew that they all heard her, judging by the momentary stiffening of each vampiric body in the room, and she ruthlessly pressed down some pride in the way Kol looked slightly chastened after five words from her mouth and Elijah gave her an apologetic stare.

"One. Fucking. Dinner," she continued, walking further into the room to survey the damage completely, unsurprised to find that every platter that had previously held food was shattered. "I personally picked out every single ingredient in this menu. I oversaw it being cooked. I taste tested them. I worked _so_ hard to make sure that this was perfect, and you _ruined_ it."

"Caroline–"

"Shut up," she snapped, unsurprised when Klaus looked like he was about to press on anyway, and she spoke over him before he could. "I have been planning this for _months_. You all knew it was happening. I individually asked each one of you whether you'd be able to put your adulting pants on to eat together like an actual family. Maybe you don't remember, but all of you said you could. This is unacceptable behavior, and I am disappointed in you all. No, don't even start, Kol. If you're going to act like a five year old I will treat you like one."

"Caroline, sweetheart–"

"Stop, Klaus," she said, her voice slightly shrill, and he winced.

She was trying so hard to fight the tears threatening to well in her eyes, to push down the sobs that were about to burst from her chest, but she knew that it was a losing battle. "I just wanted to have one night together where you all weren't trying to kill each other. One. Fucking. Night. Is that really too much to ask? Do I have to lock you all in a room together and play Disney Channel Original Movies until you can get along? All of you are 1000-something. You are like, forty times my age. Get it together."

Her chest was heaving as she finished her speech, and she couldn't help but curse whatever genetics made her cry when she was angry as she turned to make her dramatic exit and stomped up the marble staircase, mindful not to grip the banister hard enough to crack it.

The hybrids would have enough clean-up to do as it was, and making more wouldn't be fair.

She flopped down on the bed she shared with Klaus, grabbing her pillow and burying her face in it. She knew that she probably shouldn't be this upset about it. The Original siblings all in one room was a recipe for disaster, and she'd gone in knowing that, but was it really too much to ask for one night? Did they really not care enough to spare one night out of the gazillions of nights they'd had to make her happy?

Was it really that hard?

She heard Klaus's familiar footsteps against the carpet and curled further into the blankets, turning slightly to look at him when the door opened. "Hey," she mumbled.

He didn't talk, simply stripping out of his shirt and jeans and sliding in beside her, tugging her to rest against him and stroking her hair. His motto when she was upset, she'd learned over the years, tended to lean more towards, 'if you don't know what to say, be quiet and cuddle'.

"I'm being stupid, aren't I?"

"It was important to you," he said gruffly, clearly trying to dodge the question (and failing). "Of course you're upset."

"I just don't understand what's so hard about it. They said they'd behave-and don't think I'm not mad at you too, because I totally am-and then they didn't."

"Rebekah did. In fact, the reason she's currently lying on the floor was because Kol didn't care much for her reminders. In fact, as usual, Kol managed to ruin the plan and somehow, conveniently for him, implicate all of us while doing so."

"Fucking Kol," Caroline mumbled, and she felt Klaus smile against her hair.

"Indeed."

"He's probably just upset about Bonnie."

"Oh, so now you're on his side?" Klaus teased, and she huffed, inhaling his scent as she burrowed further against his chest.

"No. I'm totally going to sneak onto his computer and activate parental controls so that he can't access the internet, and then compel every single Mac repair shop in New Orleans to make sure they won't fix it for him."

"Very diabolical. I'm proud."

She rolled her eyes at his dry tone, knowing he couldn't see but still feeling the need to express her annoyance. "Seriously, though. Even if it was just Kol being an ass, I'm not very happy with you guys. You totally let him murder Rebekah. Not stellar sibling behavior."

"She's immortal, love, she'll be fine."

"Still rude."

"I'll buy her shoes."

"She can buy herself shoes."

"I'll give her little boyfriend immunity from any injury or death from my hand for the next ten years."

"As if you'd ever touch him anyway. He's my best friend."

"Well, I'm running out of bribes, sweetheart. If you have a better idea…"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," she said tiredly. "What time is it?"

"Half-eight."

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

"If you'd like, but no–"

"Klaus, I will pick this movie. You will sit through it no matter how much you hate it. I will then forgive you, and we'll probably have make-up sex if I'm not too tired."

"Agreed," he said quickly, reaching back to pick up the remote to their flatscreen off their side table and flicking it on.

They were only halfway through The Sound of Music when Caroline heard Rebekah screech in fury, followed closely by Kol's scream of pain and a disgusting squelch that indicated a loss of some organ, followed by a neck snap.

"Can you turn it up?" Klaus mumbled, and Caroline grinned.

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 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! Please let me know what you thought :D  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	2. Ask Me When You're Sober

**Summary: Klaus has a crush on Caroline, who turns up as Marcel's (supposed) date to Rebekah's wedding. He's upset and has a few drinks. Luckily, not all is as it seems. Kind of fluffy. AU/AH.**

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For the entire semester, Klaus had doodled her in his notebook during History of Gothic Literature, actively attempting to ignore that no matter what he started out trying to draw, it always ended up being Caroline, the girl who always sat a few desks to the left and down two rows.

He'd resisted the urge to sketch her face, knowing that there was a limit to how creepy he could be, instead just drawing endless faceless sketches of the girl.

He'd developed a bit of a crush, he was rather ashamed to say.

They'd met in passing a few times through Stefan, who was dating his sister and was one of Caroline's best friends. Once the other man had found out, he teased Klaus mercilessly, and when Klaus found out that she was coming to Rebekah and Stefan's wedding the week after finals, he was almost certain he'd have his chance to ask her out.

Unfortunately, when he arrived, he saw her with his friend Marcel, both of them laughing and looking _quite_ cozy. He'd snapped at her when she greeted him, ignoring the look of hurt that flashed over her face before sitting down at the bar.

He'd lost count of how many shots he'd had (though it couldn't have been that many, since he could both form a coherent sentence and see straight).

Klaus knocked back another shot, feeling a bit unsteady in his chair, and turned to see Caroline walking up next to him.

"You okay, there?" she asked, an eyebrow raised, and he shrugged.

"Just fine, sweetheart."

"You're slurring," she said dryly, and he shook his head.

"Wasn't."

"Yeah you were," she said, her lips twitching. "Stefan asked me very nicely to get you back to the hotel because you're drunk out of your mind."

"I thought you were busy being Marcel's date."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, frowning. "I'm not his date."

"Are you sure, love? Because you looked quite close."

"Yes, I'm sure. My brother backed out of coming and so did Marcel's sister, so he offered to be my friendly date so that we wouldn't be sitting here awkwardly," she said, her tone indicative of her brother not being in her good books. "I mean, not that it's any of your business anyway," she added as a clear afterthought, although her tone wasn't mean, so much as teasing.

"What if I want it to be my business?"

"Well, you've made that pretty clear, but I think you're too drunk for this conversation," she said, continuing before he could respond. "C'mon, we have to go."

"Why?"

"Again, because you're drunk, and Stefan doesn't deserve to have his wedding ruined. It's my job to get you out of here."

"Your job? What's Stefan paying you?"

"Unlike _some_ people, Stefan doesn't have to buy friends. I'm just nice."

"I take offense. I don't buy friends."

"Oh, I know. You're too charming for that. Your sister, though? _Total_ friend buyer. No offense."

"You think I'm charming?" he asked stumbling slightly, as she moved to hold open the door to the hotel's reception hall for him.

"Please. You're not that oblivious. Although, I guess it's good that you're probably drunk enough to forget everything past an hour into the reception because I'm pretty sure your ego shouldn't be any bigger than it already is."

"Oh, I'll remember you calling me charming, love. Even if I forget anything else."

"No petnames, and if you do remember, I'll deny it," she said firmly. "Which is your hotel room?"

"Dunno. Card's in my blazer."

"Well?" she demanded. "Get it out."

He fished around in his pockets, his hand finally closing around the card, and he handed it to her, suddenly too tired to pretend his vision wasn't blurry.

She glanced at it and stuck it in her bra before turning back to him. "Do you need to like, lean on me or whatever? You look like you're having some balancing issues."

"I'm fine," he said, stumbling slightly as he moved to follow her, but righting himself quickly enough that she merely sent him a judgmental look before gesturing to the elevators.

"Let's go."

He followed her to the elevator, leaning against the bar as she pressed the button for his floor. They rode the elevator in silence for a few seconds before Caroline spoke. "Why?"

"Why what, love?"

"Why me?"

He gave her a confused look and she huffed. "I know you like me. Why?"

"You're smart and beautiful, and you have a nice face for sketching. Why not?" he asked as the elevator dinged, still sure he was slurring his words.

"You never sketch my face," she said as she climbed out after him before her mouth snapped shut.

He raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed he had the coordination to do so as he walked slowly down the hotel hallway.

"I know you draw me," she said awkwardly.

Klaus was luckily sober enough to decide that the best course of action was to stay silent.

"It's really creepy, and you're not subtle at all, but I talked to Stefan right before he asked me to get you out of the reception. He says you're not as much of an ass as I thought you were. Apparently you're still stuck in Kindergarten and think the best way to get a girl's attention is to be irritating."

"Did it work?" he asked dryly, and she huffed.

"Well, no. Not really."

"Then why are you bringing it up, love?'

She bit her lip as they arrived outside his hotel room, and she pulled the card out of her dress. He looked away, determined to not give her more reason to dislike him.

"I kind of wanted it to," she admitted.

"Wanted it to work, you mean?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, there's no reason it can't."

She swiped the card and the door clicked. She opened it, following him in.

"That's true, I guess."

He stripped to his boxers, trying not to grin when her face flushed. He was sobering up quickly, gaining his wits back a bit, and he enjoyed watching her expression as she tried to be subtle about eyeing him.

"What can I do to acquit myself?"

She bit her lip. "Tell me why I should give you a chance."

"Because you want to," he said, shrugging as he sat down on his bed. "And because I fancy you as much as you do me. Probably more, though once I'm sober I'll deny I said it."

She laughed. "Okay. Fair enough."

"Can I take you out?" he asked.

"For the purpose of not having to overanalyze this later, ask me when you're sober. Right now, though, I need to make sure you're alive and in bed so that the friend-in-law won't kill me."

"Friend-in-law?" he asked, his lips twitching. "And you're welcome to take me to bed any time, love."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. You know, Stefan is my friend, he married Rebekah, she's my friend-in-law. And you can stop being creepy. I might take back my date acceptance."

"You didn't accept, you just said to ask you when I'm sober."

"Yeah, and I'd say yes. Pretty sure I made that clear."

He nodded, eyeing her, and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, hovering near him until he laid down.

"You're feeling okay, right? Not going to vomit?"

"I'm fine, love. Just need to sleep it off."

She nodded and left with a good night, and he leaned back against the pillows, about to close his eyes and attempt to sleep when he heard his phone buzz in his jacket. He groaned and climbed out of bed to get it and check his text.

[From: Bekah]: Did it work?

[To: Bekah]: Did what work?

[From: Bekah]: Oh my god, please tell me you took advantage of my perfectly executed matchmaking plan to ask out the stupid girl so you can stop whining about it to my husband?

[To: Bekah]: You've literally been married to him for less than four hours and you're already referring to him as your husband.

[From: Bekah]: Well, he is.

[From: Bekah]: And you didn't answer my question.

[To: Bekah]: She told me to ask tomorrow when I'm sober.

[From: Bekah]: Good.

[From: Bekah]: You owe me, btw.

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 **I hope you enjoyed this! Please tell me what you thought :D  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	3. Humanity Trigger

**Summary: Klaus finds Caroline with her humanity turned off, and things don't really go as planned. Kind of angsty, but has a happy ending.**

 **This didn't have a read-over at all, so please excuse any mistakes/continuity errors.**

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 **kc + "i know you won't hurt me." "you know nothing." "i do know somethings. i know that i love you." / KLAROLINE ANGST Xoxo, Jyl / Klaus goes back on his word to never return to Mystic Falls, and appears for Sheriff Forbes' funeral, and afterward finds Caroline after she shuts off her humanity**

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He had no idea what the boy's name was. Martin? Matt? Mike? Klaus named the boy Quarterback. It was simpler that way. It was also irrelevant, in any case. Klaus didn't particularly care what the boy's name was as long as he called any time something significant happened to Caroline.

He'd promised never to come back to Mystic Falls, but there was no reason not to come to Whitmore. He'd made a few quick calls, visited a few key people, and now here he was, waiting for her to show up.

When she did, he could tell immediately that Quarterback's call had been accurate.

She was carrying herself differently, her eyes empty of emotion, and when she saw him hovering by the front door of the dorm, her lip curled.

"Why are you here?"

"I came for you," he said.

It was a tricky thing, turning off one's humanity. It was often referred to as turning emotions off, but it truly was losing their humanity the most literal sense. A vampire could be happy, or irritated, or any number of emotions, but they didn't spare a single thought to the value of others, unless they benefited them in some way.

And then there was the trigger.

There was always a way to break through, to make the vampire acknowledge their humanity, to bring it back. Sometimes it was a person, a long lost love. Other times it could be a memory, seeing something that reminded them of an emotional time in their lives.

He could only wonder what Caroline's trigger was.

He was brought back to his thoughts by a very Caroline-like toss of blonde hair and unimpressed huff. "Oh. Well, as you've probably figured out, I don't care."

"And yet, here I am."

"Here you are," she agreed. "You can't compel me to turn it on again, you know. I've been taking vervain, and I know you won't bleed me out."

"I expected as much, and in any case I wouldn't compel you."

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowed, before seeming to accept that he was telling the truth and shrugging, smoothing her sundress over her thighs. "'Kay, well, bye then."

He reached out to grab her wrist before she could take another step. "I think I'll stay," he said quietly.

"Why? I made a no killing rule, since covering the paper trail would suck major ass. Miss Judgy is keeping an irritatingly close eye on me, and I have a replacement hot British guy. So, you can leave. Seriously."

"No, sweetheart. I'm staying whether you want me to or not. Unless I have a very good reason to, I will not attempt to convince you to flip your switch, nor will I interfere with your daily life, but vampires that flip the switch tend to become reckless, and I can't have you endangering yourself."

"Well, okay then, _sweetheart,_ " she said dryly before turning to the dorm and swiping her keycard to unlock it.

Klaus followed her in, and she turned to glare at him. "Why are you following me? Don't tell me you're going to shadow me everywhere. It'll completely throw off my ability to pick up sketchy guys in dive bars."

"Oh, I live here," he said pleasantly, choosing to ignore her obvious attempt to bait him.

She scoffed. "You? You're in college?"

"No, but they have a visitor's wing for when speakers or lecturers come to stay."

"All right, well whatever."

She readjusted her purse on her shoulder before walking a few steps up the staircase before pausing, turning to him.

"Do you want to have sex with me?"

Klaus barely restrained an eyeroll, a habit he'd managed to pick up from Rebekah.

"Is that an offer or a question?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, yes, as the answers are different."

She gave him an exaggerated pout, widening her eyes. "Do you not 'fancy' me anymore? Because I'd be totally down to _enjoy_ you anyway."

This time he did roll his eyes.

She walked down the steps to him, hips swaying, teeth sunk into her lower lip, and despite the lack of affection in her eyes, he wanted her.

He let her get close, let her trail a finger down his chest as she looked at him, their noses centimeters apart. Her palms moved slowly up his chest over his shirt, finally landing on his shoulders, and he couldn't help but let his hands fall naturally on her hips.

He was unable to resist inhaling her scent, his cock twitching against her, and she smirked, moving slightly to speak, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.

"I wouldn't blame you, you know."

She hovered in front of him for only a second before he caved, his self-control waning, and he pressed his lips to hers. She was so sweet, so _right,_ her hands stroking his face, enjoying the way her thumbs caressed his cheekbones.

He realized his mistake a mere millisecond before she snapped his neck.

 **XXX**

He awoke with a sharp pain in his neck, and he rolled it to relieve the kinks, identifying his environment within seconds. He was in a cell, with one wall barred, probably underground. There was a vampire within a few yards of him, most likely Caroline judging from her scent in the air.

He already knew there would be a witch barrier, but he ignored Caroline for the moment and got up to wave his hand at the bars anyway, hissing when he hit the magical wall and shaking his hand out, as though that would relieve the pain.

"You're awake," he heard Caroline say, and he turned to see her leaning casually against the cell wall, sipping from a blood bag.

"I'm aware."

She sped up to him and he grabbed her wrists, knowing she was about to attack by the flash of her eyes, and he grunted in pain when her knee came in contact with his groin. Immediately realizing that she was truly trying to injure him, and turned her around, holding her back tightly against his chest and wrapping his arms around her. He pinned her wrists together with one hand and trapped her thighs with the other, her legs pressed against his in a way that prevented her from kicking.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Caroline, but I am perfectly capable of restraining you for as long as I need to."

She was still struggling, and he let her, hoping she'd tire herself out. He eventually sat down against the cell wall, using his legs to keep hers down rather than his arms, attempting to make it more comfortable for both of him (and to pin her hips so that she'd stop rubbing against his half-hard cock)(not that he was turned on by her being trapped, but a man could only take so much friction before his body reacted).

"Why did you snap my neck?" he asked calmly, and she laughed a bit cruelly.

"You're dangerous. I need you out of the picture."

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said again.

She shrugged as much as she could with her hands pinned. "I'm not concerned about that. I know you wouldn't."

"Then why?"

"My friends are self-centered idiots. If they knew you were in town, they'd naturally assume that you were after Elena, and they'd be trying to unlink the bloodlines to kill you."

"I thought you didn't care," he said, vaguely amused.

"Well, I don't, but I also know that Damon's plans are terrible 99% of the time, and he'd probably fail to unlink the bloodlines but think he did, and I'd be dead. You're useful."

"So, just to clarify: You want me to stay alive, and the way you plan on accomplishing this is by locking me in a basement where I'm vulnerable and anyone can find me?"

She snorted. "No. I'm locking you in a basement while I find a way to desiccate you. Don't worry; I'll wake you up in a year. I just need you out of the way for now."

"It's bad villain form to inform others of your evil plans, sweetheart."

He was honestly completely unconcerned. It wasn't that he was underestimating her, because he knew that if anyone could pull it off it would be her, but he'd told her that he wouldn't attempt to make her flip her switch unless he had a very good reason. Frankly, he considered threats of desiccation as "a very good reason".

"You're not going to do that, love," he said, his voice adopting a tone of affection, his palm stroking her thigh lightly under her skirt.

He brushed his lips over the column of her throat, nuzzling her neck, making sure he coated her with his scent. It was manipulative, but the more he brought up everything she associated with him, the more likely he could trigger her humanity back on.

"Why not?" she asked, with an almost surely subconscious tip of her head to allow him better access.

"I know you won't hurt me, love."

She laughed, a cruel tint to it, and he bit her ear lightly, something he knew she especially enjoyed when they met in the woods.

"Of course I would, Klaus. I've done it before. You clearly know nothing about how this whole me-not-caring thing works."

"I know that I love you, Caroline," he whispered.

It was a lie. He wasn't in love with her, not yet. However, he knew that Caroline, as young as she was, had quite a different concept of love than he did.

"Well I don't love you, Klaus. I didn't before I turned it off, I certainly don't now, and I never will," she said even as leaned into his touch.

"And yet, there are hundreds of simpler ways to deal with this alleged problem, as it really was a weak excuse in the first place, other than locking me away and desiccating me or forcing me to leave for fear of it. You want to do it for some reason, Caroline, a reason that has nothing to do with your little friends."

She was about to say something, but he continued before she could interrupt.

"You want me incapacitated. I'd even wager that you told me you were going to desiccate me as a threat with no intention of following through. You knew you wouldn't be able to watch me turn to stone without feeling something Caroline."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, and he grinned against her hair.

"When I arrived here this morning, I was almost positive that the Bennett witch or the doppelganger would be your trigger, but I don't think that's true, is it, love? You were relying on my promise to not come back, and when I showed up, you had to concoct a plan to get me out of the way as quickly as possible, and I think we both know why."

She flinched, and he could hear her grit her teeth, could feel her body growing taut.

"Tell me, Caroline, how close did you come to turning it on when you snapped my neck? How hard was it to not care as you pulled my lifeless body to this cell? How much are you fighting yourself right now?"

"Stop," she said, her voice loud and shrill, and he couldn't help but feel just a bit guilty as he felt the anger and fear and pure desperation rolling off of her in waves.

"I'm your trigger. Aren't I, sweetheart?"

"No. You're not. I hate you."

"Well, that's an emotion other than indifference isn't it, sweetheart…"

"Stop, Klaus," she shouted, and he could feel her breaking down in his arms, feel her retreat into herself, a tear hitting his nose as it rolled down her cheek.

He carefully turned her around to curl against his chest as she cried, unsure of whether he'd done the right thing. They sat there for what felt to Klaus like hours until Caroline had cried herself out, and when she'd stopped, she looked up at him, her eyes wide and confused.

"How could you do that to me?"

"Do what, love?"

"You made me turn it on. I told you I wanted a year, Klaus. I told you I was fine, and that nothing would go wrong. Is it too much to ask for me to grieve in my own way? Do you really think you know what's best for me better than I do?"

"In my defense, even if you'd followed through on your threat, you'd have turned it on in doing so."

"That's not the point. You manipulated me."

He wasn't going to apologize for it, and he knew she could tell, her body shaking with rage as she scrambled out of his arms. He let her, watching her as she tried to gather herself.

"You can have your year, you know."

"Oh, can I?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'll leave. I just wanted to know that you were all right. If you truly want it off, I won't stop you."

"Oh, well thank you for the privilege. I'm so glad you're willing to let me do it."

"Caroline…" he said irritably. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever," she muttered, glancing at the cell door.

"So, out of curiosity, how do I leave?"

She gave him a look that indicated how stupid of a question she thought it was. "You go through the door, dumbass."

He raised an eyebrow. "There's a containment spell."

"Yeah. On the bars. I knew you wouldn't leave if I was here."

"Am I really that predictable?"

She just shot him a glare and didn't answer. "If I turn it off, do you promise you won't make me turn it back on?"

"Not unless I believe that you're honestly threatening me. That's the only reason I did it," he said, trying not to sound too exasperated.

"Okay."

"I can't promise your friends won't, however."

"No, I know," she grumbled. "Stefan's been trying."

She froze for a second before turning to him. "Actually, I know what you can do to make this up to me."

He decided that telling her that there was no reason he should have to would be counter productive to curbing her anger, so he simply tilted his head to the side.

"I want a plane ticket."

"To where?"

"I don't know. Somewhere I can be alone."

"I have a villa in Madrid," he suggested hesitantly.

"Would you invite yourself to come with me?" she asked dryly.

"Only if you wanted me to."

"I don't."

He felt a stab of disappointment in his chest, and he saw her huff. "I just said I want to be alone. Don't be a drama queen."

He snorted.

"Look. Help me arrange to get settled, let me have my time, humanity off or not. Find me in a year. No earlier, got it?"

He smiled slightly as she poked him in the chest. "I understand."

"When's the fastest you can get everything arranged? I'd do it myself, but I figure you'd probably get it done faster."

"I can have you on a jet in four hours at the latest."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome, love."

"I'm really mad at you," she said, and he could tell she meant it.

"I know."

He called his jet, had the bank give her a checking account with access to his funds, and did a whole host of other things, and she was boarding it within two hours.

She didn't look back, and that might have hurt more than anything else.

 **Two years later…**

She opened the door when he knocked, standing aside to let him into his own house.

"How are you, love?" he asked as soon as she pressed the lock.

She shrugged. "Everything sucks. I miss her. It's a bit better now, though."

Klaus nodded, staying silent.

"I'm not ready for a relationship right now," she said bluntly, walking to the kitchen and pulling two glasses from the cabinet, scooping ice into them from the freezer. "It was nice to have a year to myself to grieve, but I think I'm still not emotionally there, you know?"

"That's fine. I told you I'd wait, Caroline. I meant it."

She nodded, getting some juice out of the fridge and pouring herself a glass, giving him a quick look and pouring one for him as well, setting it in front of him and shrugging at his thank you.

"Well, that's good, because it might be awhile."

"Does that mean you'll be ready eventually?" he asked, unable to stop himself, still unable to squash that shred of doubt he always carried.

She gave him an unimpressed look. "I think you know the answer to that question."

He smiled, a true one, and she hesitantly smiled back.

"Thank you for staying away a bit longer. I think I needed time alone once I turned it back on, too."

"Are you still angry with me?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, scoffing.

His lips twitched. "What can I do to acquit myself?"

She was quiet for a moment, and spoke as soon as he took a sip of his drink. "Well, if you'd come last year like you were supposed to, we could have had really great angry sex."

He coughed, setting his juice down. "And now? Has my time window run out?" he asked dryly.

"Nope. You just have one more thing to apologize for. That's a lot of things, by the way. You owe me _a lot_ of apologies," she said, smiling at him over her glass before licking her lips and holding his gaze with her own.

"Best get started then."

* * *

 **I hope you liked it! Please tell me what you thought :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	4. The Laws of Christmas

For Cassie's (queenvampirebarbie) birthday. Her prompt was: "you're my roommate and the only one on campus who isn't planning on going home for christmas bc you have family troubles but my mom wouldn't mind if u stayed with us for christmas so u won't be alone" au

There were some changes made, but I kept the spirit of it, haha.

* * *

"You can't spend Christmas alone!" Caroline said for what felt to Klaus like the thousandth time.

"Of course I can. My roommate will be gone, along with his exasperating little sister–"

"I'm not litte. I'm literally like, ten minutes younger than him," Caroline said.

"Still younger," Matt called from the kitchen, and Caroline shouted at him to shut up before continuing.

"Look, I know the idea of having the house to yourself is probably nice in theory, but it'll be so lonely."

"I grew up with six siblings, Caroline. I will be perfectly fine alone with a glass of brandy and Netflix. I dare say it'll be a relief."

That, and he also wouldn't have to risk giving into the attraction to Caroline that he'd been fighting for the last year.

He and Matt had ended up roommates through Craigslist, and despite the fact that he'd only signed up for one roommate, Caroline had started hanging out at their place more often than not after the first month or so, claiming that they were quieter that the apartment she shared with her friend Katherine.

Frankly, he didn't doubt that was true.

However, he also had an inkling that she was attracted to him, and wanted an excuse to hang out without having to commit to anything, and he was perfectly fine with that. He enjoyed her company, and he honestly wouldn't mind their friendship turning into something more.

There was one obstacle though, which was his easy, drama-free roommate existence with her twin brother.

After one of her first few visits, Matt had turned to him the second Caroline left and told him in no uncertain terms that Caroline was off-limits unless Klaus was completely serious about her.

Klaus was, in fact, completely serious about her, but he felt like it would be better to ease Matt into the idea, and any situation where he'd be alone with Caroline was a definite risk.

"Okay, first of all, you're such a hipster. Brandy? You're like, twenty-two. Also, leaving you by yourself when everyone else is with their families is basically against the Laws of Christmas," she said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"I'm fairly sure that there is no such thing as the Laws of Christmas, love."

"Um, yeah there are. I know because I made them."

"She won't stop until you agree," Matt said grumpily, walking out of the kitchen with his dinner and sitting down next to Caroline. "Just spare my ears the torture. Caroline, hands off my food. That has pepper all over it anyway. You'd hate it."

"Oh my god, did you really make your food peppery so that I wouldn't steal it?" Caroline asked, glaring at her brother, who just shrugged.

"You do know that you have your own apartment with your own food that you can eat, right?"

Caroline just huffed and rolled her eyes before turning back to Klaus.

"Look, you have to come, okay? It'll be really fun! Please?" she asked, widening her eyes and smiling cajolingly.

He sighed, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair. "Fine."

"Great!" Caroline said with a huge, sunny smile, clapping her hands together.

Her happiness was infectious, and he felt himself give her a dimpled smile back.

 **XXX**

The drive back to Mystic Falls was short. Caroline drove, insisting on listening to her iPod playlist, and Klaus regretted helping Matt fix his speakers to support bass better as Caroline sang along enthusiastically to what seemed to be an endless parade of Taylor Swift songs.

When they arrived, Caroline and Matt introduced Vicki, their older sister, as well as their parents, Kelly and Bill.

"It's nice to meet you," Klaus said uncomfortably after Kelly gave him a hug that was, in his opinion, a bit too enthusiastic.

Caroline seemed to agree. "Let him breathe, Mom," she snapped, and Kelly pulled back, shooting a smile at her daughter.

"We have to be nice to our guests, Caroline."

Vicki and Caroline made identical disgusted faces behind their mother's back, but Matt seemed oblivious, just grabbing Caroline's suitcase and hauling it up the stairs.

"What did you pack, bricks?"

"I brought my textbooks home," she said with an exaggeratedly innocent look, and Bill clapped her on the back, saying how proud he was of his 'baby girl's' work ethic, and Caroline shot him a huge smile.

They were unpacked quickly (Klaus in the guest room), and were soon gathered around the table for dinner. They ate and made semi-awkward small talk, Klaus ignoring both Vicki and Kelly's light flirting (noticing that Caroline seemed oddly quiet).

"Klaus, want to help me clear up?" Caroline asked as soon as they were done after a particularly uncomfortable comment by Vicki about how Klaus should play sports.

"Of course, love," he said, and he faintly heard one of the women sigh.

He followed Caroline into the kitchen with the plates, and she started the hot water.

"I'm sorry about Vicki and Mom," Caroline said as she scrubbed the plates a bit more aggressively than Klaus thought was strictly necessary. "You dry," she ordered, flinging a dishtowel at him when he didn't move to help.

"All right. And it's just fine, sweetheart. I don't mind."

"Well, I do. It's embarrassing."

He shrugged. "My mates took me to a strip club for my eighteenth birthday and that's how we found out how my oldest sister Freya was paying for Medical School," he said, hoping to console her, the memory of his sister's horrified face flashing through his mind. "They wouldn't let me forget it for years. It took a few shiners for them to stop."

"What was the point of telling me that?"

"It was embarrassing," he said, shrugging. "You're not alone."

She giggled, and he couldn't help but hope he could hear the sound of her laughter more often.

 **XXX**

"What are you doing, mate?"

"Not getting murdered in my sleep by my sister," Matt said, backing up to make sure the decoration was perfectly straight on the doorway of the living room.

Klaus had worst-case scenario visions of Vicki purposefully catching him under the mistletoe Matt was hanging and momentarily demanded that he take it down (Caroline wouldn't _really_ kill him), but the other man seemed to have read his mind. "Don't worry, Vicki's boyfriend is coming. She wouldn't do anything with him around."

"Does she do that sort of thing often?"

"Yep," Matt said dryly. "And no offense dude, but I'd rather not talk about my sister's sex habits."

"To be honest, I'm not all that interested anyway."

Not in that sister, at least.

Matt shot him a calculating gaze before bending to pick up the step stool. "Just don't be a dick."

Klaus put a hand on his chest with exaggerated offendedness. "I have no idea what you're on about."

"Of course not."

Matt walked away, and just moments later Caroline bounded down the stairs. "Matt? Did you put the stuff up yet?" she shouted.

"He did."

"Great."

She was standing just under the mistletoe on the doorframe, and Klaus couldn't help but feel that she was purposefully baiting him. He took a hesitant step towards her, and when she didn't take a step back, he continued until he was in the doorway with her.

She didn't move, and he took that as a good sign as he cupped her cheek. She leaned into his touch, and he bent down to press his lips to hers.

She kissed him back, her taste sweet, her hands moving to wind into his shirt. When she pulled back a few seconds later, her lips were puffy, eyes bright. "Is this okay?"

"More than."

She smiled at him again, her arms moving more fully around his neck, and he gripped her hips, pulling her flush against him.

They both stiffened as they heard someone cough next to them, and broke apart, turning to face Matt, who was standing next to them with his palms clapped over his eyes.

"Can I take it down now?"

"Of course not. It's an integral part of the decoration scheme!"

"And she wants to kiss me again," Klaus said with a smug smile.

"Oh, don't act like it's not reciprocated."

He just kissed her again, ignoring Matt's exaggerated gag of disgust.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! :) Let me know what you think if you have a few seconds.

Hugs!  
-Angie


	5. A Huge Favor

For Klaroline Valentines (Day One: Feels).

Summary: Klaus admits to his roommate Caroline that he lied to his mother and said that they had been dating for the last two and a half years. He asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend at the annual family reunion. She is not amused.

* * *

"What are you doing next week?"

"Laughing at you from our bug-proof apartment while you go camping with your family," Caroline said without looking up from her laptop, squinting at the screen.

"Right, about that, love…"

Caroline did look up now, her eyes narrowed. "What did you do, Klaus?"

"Well, a while ago, my dear mother was badgering me to get a girlfriend, and to shut her up I told her that I had one, and she asked for a name, and I said you, because I thought we weren't going to be roommates for long, and so now–"

"Wait, slow down, we've been living together since Sophomore year," Caroline said, narrowing her eyes.

Whitmore's co-ed dorms had been initially a curse and then a blessing. Her first roommate, Tyler, was a douche (a _messy_ douche), and they'd dated and broken up rather disastrously about five times over that school year. When Caroline and Klaus were paired together, she was expecting more of the same messy douchery, but he was polite and kept his side of the room neat (even if she did catch him staring at her ass every now and then, but she knew he'd caught her staring more than once, so whatever).

This resulted in them agreeing to be roommates every year until they graduated before they moved out together (in a strictly platonic way, which was rather unfortunate in her opinion). Now, he was about to start his Master's and she was off to her first year of Med School, and...

"How long have you let your mother think we're dating?" Caroline asked slowly, her voice dangerous.

"Since January."

"Tell me you mean last January, Klaus."

"Er, no."

"What do you mean, _no_?"

"As far as she knows, we've been dating since January of the first year we moved in together."

"She thinks we've been dating for _two and a half years_?!"

"Yes. And she asked me whether we were doing anything during the annual camping trip, and I assumed that she meant to find out if I could go, but then when I said I was free, she booked two tickets for us to fly to Michigan–"

"She _what_?!"

"I'm sorry, love."

"No. I am not going."

"Please, Caroline."

"Are you serious right now?" she hissed.

"Yes. Look, sweetheart, please–"

"Don't you 'sweetheart' me, you ass. I wouldn't even sleep in a tent for two weeks with Ryan Gosling."

"They're cabins, Caroline, not tents. I promise."

She stared him down, and he widened his eyes slightly. She swore under her breath, slapping her palms over her eyes. "Fine, but you owe me _so big_ for this."

"I know, love. I appreciate it."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

She glared at him, her teeth gritted, and he put his hands up in surrender. "Let me know if you need help packing, all right?"

She threw a couch pillow at him and stomped off to her room.

Fucking Klaus with his fucking family and their fucking camping trips and her fucking feelings and why was she so _fucking_ in love with him?

It just wasn't fair.

XXX

It was the day before they were supposed to leave, and Klaus could hear Caroline re-packing for what must have been the third time.

The first time she'd done it, she pestered him endlessly about what activities they'd be doing, worried that she'd pick an inappropriate swimsuit or dress for the wrong weather. After being told that his answer to bring a pair of walking shoes and not pack only dresses was completely unhelpful, she stormed off to do research on summers in Michigan.

The second was after an off-hand warning about his mother being a pretentious snob, which resulted in a massive shopping expedition at the outlet shopping mall that he was dragged along to ("It's your fault I'm in this mess in the first place, Klaus"), and he'd been coerced into paying for the things that she insisted were absolutely necessary ("I know for a fact that your trust fund can handle a J Crew sweater, some nice tops, a dress, and a few pairs of jeans").

This third time, though, was brought on by Klaus getting a phone call from Elijah reminding him that they'd be sharing a cabin with Rebekah and her boyfriend, and supporting an active "no-death" policy.

Apparently, she hadn't realized that faking a relationship meant they'd be sharing a bed.

This started the re-packing frenzy with things to sleep in that covered her whole body, rather than the tank tops and tiny cotton shorts she usually preferred.

Every time he pointed out that she _lived_ with him and he'd therefore seen every possible combination of pajamas she owned, she would just send him the same face she used when he'd made a completely logical point that she didn't agree with ("honestly, Caroline, the sitting room is just going to get messy again").

He stood in the doorway, watching her fold clothes, her mouth pressed in a thin line. Lying to his parents had been more wishful thinking than anything else, but it was biting him in the arse. He knew he was lucky that she was even helping him, and he was most likely going to owe her some huge favor.

"You're staring."

"May I come in?" he asked in response, and she shrugged, picking up another pair of jeans.

"Sure. We're going to be sharing a room for the next week anyway."

"Now, love, don't be like that."

"Don't be like what? Annoyed that you essentially guilted me into this? That you put me in a situation where I can't say no without making serious waves in your life? Klaus, you know that this isn't fair to me, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop treating this like a small favor."

He immediately deflated, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to take you for granted, Caroline."

"It just feels like you are," she said tiredly.

"I also didn't mean to make you feel that way. I really appreciate that you're helping me with this, love. You are honestly a gift to humanity, and–"

"Okay, stop sucking up. I can't deal with it. It's too weird," she said, her lips twitching slightly.

"As you wish, sweetheart."

She shot him an exasperated eyeroll. "So, what's our story?"

"Whatever you want it to be."

"You know better than to give me that opening, Klaus. What does your family know already?"

"Consider it one of the ways I'm making it up to you," he said. "And all anyone knows at the moment is that I'm very secretive about our relationship, and that we've lived together the entire time."

"They don't even know how we got together?"

"No, although I believe that my siblings have some sort of betting pool."

Caroline blinked slowly before shaking her head. "Okay, hold on. You have six siblings, right?"

"Including or excluding Aaron?"

"Who's Aaron?"

"Freya's twin."

"Why would you exclude him?"

Klaus winced, trying to figure out a delicate way to phrase it. "Well, _I_ wouldn't, but he and my father don't have the best relationship. He moved out to live with Aunt Dahlia when he was seventeen or so. Freya is the only one who talks to him, to my knowledge."

"Wait, you have an aunt?"

"If it's any consolation, that was my reaction as well," Klaus said dryly. "I didn't know she existed until Aaron ran off."

Caroline seemed a bit overwhelmed with the information, which was fair enough since he didn't talk about himself or his family all that often. "Okay, let's start over. How many of your siblings will be there?"

"Most likely all of them other than Aaron."

"So, how many is that?"

"Six. Freya, Finn, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, and Henrik, as well as all of their significant others."

"Who are?"

"Finn's wife Sage and their son Harold, Elijah's fiance Katerina, and Rebekah's boyfriend, whose name I purposefully have not learned. Freya is happily single, Kol can't find a woman to put up with him for more than five minutes at most, and Henrik is still a teenager."

Caroline nodded, processing the information. "Okay, and your parents names are?"

"Esther and Mikael."

"And I should call them?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson. My mother will most likely invite you to call her by her first name. Don't. It's a trap."

Caroline snorted. "Okay, anything else I should know? What are your siblings like? Is there anything I have to watch out for?"

"I can honestly guarantee that by the end of the week, you and Freya will have exchanged emails, phone numbers, and every embarrassing story you know about me. She's the one you need to worry about the least. Finn is a bore and worst-case scenario, just nod and zone out. He's used to it.

"Elijah doesn't do hugs, and you'll most likely be able to bond over how messy I am. Rebekah will probably act like she hates you, but she does that to everyone. Just don't let her walk all over you. Don't take anything Kol offers you, don't believe anything he says, and don't be alone with him if you can help it. Henrik is quiet, but of all of my siblings, he's the most likely to want to be around us. He's probably my favorite sibling."

Caroline nodded slowly. "Okay."

"I'm also quite appreciative of how seriously you're taking this, love."

"Well, you know me, I don't half-ass things," she said firmly. "Will they want to know anything about our relationship? First dates? Anniversaries?"

"Doubtful. The only one who would ask is Freya, and as long as you make up something believable and tell me what you said, we should be fine."

"Okay."

He hesitantly reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Caroline, I really am sorry, all right? It was stupid and impulsive, and I honestly didn't think…" he trailed off, unwilling to say what was truly on his mind.

 _I honestly didn't think that I would be this much of a coward about telling you how I felt._

"Yeah. You didn't think," Caroline said quietly, back to looking quite peeved.

Frankly, he didn't blame her.

"I'll do the dishes for the next year," he offered, trying to not feel too disappointed when she shook his arm off.

"Yeah, as if I'd trust you with cleaning something I have to eat off of."

"Laundry?"

"I like laundry," she said, folding the last cardigan and pressing it into her suitcase. "I'll think about it, okay? Let's just say you owe me a _huge_ favor."

"All right," he agreed, not really in a position to argue that ambiguity regarding favors was never a good thing.

She gave him a small smile, laying her bag of toiletries on top of her clothes and shutting her suitcase. "Are you all packed?"

Klaus shrugged, and she gave him an exasperated look. "Seriously, Klaus?"

 **XXX**

Caroline sighed as she squirmed in her seat. The flight had been late and was very cramped, and she was regretting rejecting Klaus's offer to buy them first-class seats. Klaus gave her a knowing glance before turning back to his laptop, where he was playing some sort of game.

"Stop giving me the 'I told you so' face."

"I'm not giving you any face," he said, his voice laced with faux innocence.

"Klaus…"

He just grinned, ducking his head, and she huffed, elbowing him lightly in the side. "Are you sure you've told me everything that I need to know?"

"Yes, sweetheart. I promise."

She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes. "So, from the second we touch down, we're a couple," she said, more to remind herself than him. "We have to sell it."

"Shouldn't I be the one reminding you?"

"Probably, but I'm used to covering for you when you slack off."

She didn't have to look up at him to know that he was grinning.

When they'd finally landed, they picked up their luggage at the baggage claim, and Klaus scanned the area for Elijah, who was supposed to be picking them up.

He finally waved to a man in a suit that Caroline recognized from the family photo Klaus had showed her (at her insistence), and grabbed her hand to lead her over.

She tried not to think about how natural it felt for their fingers to tangle together, how Klaus's palm was warm and perfect against hers…

"Niklaus," Elijah greeted, nodding at his brother before turning to Caroline. "And you must be Miss Forbes."

"Please, call me Caroline," she said, taking his offered hand to shake it firmly, feeling incredibly awkward.

Elijah nodded once, his posture stiff and formal, before leading them to the parking lot. After about a half-hour long drive, they arrived at a group of cabins that looked more like a resort than a campground.

"I shall let Mother know you've arrived. You're in that cabin over there with Rebekah and Matthew. Do try to behave, Niklaus."

"Yes, yes, 'Lijah. No death, I remember," Klaus said, waving off his brother and carrying his and Caroline's bags to the cabin.

Caroline was impressed by place, to be honest. It was well-furnished with comfortable furniture, a television, and a kitchenette. Their bedroom was larger than she'd expected, and when she sat down on the bed, she was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it seemed.

"All right. Let's unpack, shall we? I wouldn't be surprised if my mother is here within fifteen minutes to pester us to see the rest of the family, and they've most likely been waiting for us to have dinner."

Caroline winced. "Okay."

"It'll be fine, Caroline. I promise."

"How are we going to do this?" she hissed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and standing up to unpack, just to keep herself busy. "What if your family checks social media? We're not listed in a relationship anywhere, and my instagram doesn't have photos of us. I don't know your favorite food or what your favorite color is, I'm _completely_ blanking on what you majored in... Klaus, we've never even _kissed_. How are we supposed to do this?"

He grabbed her wrist, not hard enough to hurt but enough to stop her rant, and she turned to face him. She tried to ignore the warmth that spread through her body when he laid his hand on his shoulder. "Take a deep breath, sweetheart. All right? It's going to be fine. As I recall, your relationship status has been set to private since that fiasco with Tyler before we'd even met. Your instagram is also set to private. My favorite food is lasagna, my favorite color is blue, and I have a degree in Political Science."

She nodded, trying to calm herself down, but before she could, his lips pressed against hers, warm and soft. Her brain had barely caught up enough to respond to the kiss before he pulled back.

"And that takes care of that, all right? Are you ready to go?"

Caroline nodded, telling Klaus to wait for her in the living room while she changed. As soon as he left, she lifted her fingers to touch her lips, fighting down a blush.

How was she supposed to calm down now?

* * *

Please, _please_ let me know what you thought! Non-smut with feelings/build-up is really hard for me, so any feedback would be appreciated.

Hugs!  
-Angie


	6. Her Friend in New Orleans

Summary: Takes place after the scene in 7x12 where Caroline is driving to NOLA to find Klaus with the Parasite Babies in the backseat.

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"To New Orleans. To visit Mommy's friend," Caroline said tiredly.

She glanced at the GPS built into the car, taking a deep breath and resisting the urge to speed. When she'd transitioned, she'd been a lot less worried about following traffic rules, but now she had Josie and Lizzie to worry about.

But she needed to get to New Orleans as fast as possible.

They'd already been driving for four hours. It had been tough to sneak Josie and Lizzie into the car without waking them up, but she'd managed. For once in her life, she hadn't been prepared, and she only had a half-tank of gas when she left, which meant they had to stop soon.

She got off the highway at the next exit, pulling into the first gas station she found that had another person. "Buy a pack of goldfish and as much apple juice as you can and come back here," she ordered, shoving two twenties into his hand and tuning out his repeating of her orders before he walked off.

She filled up the tank, unable to keep from checking the twins through the window once every fifteen seconds or so just to see if they were okay.

When the man came back, she fed quickly, making sure that Josie and Lizzie wouldn't be able to see if they happened to look out the window, and then they were back on the road. They were more than halfway there, and she knew they weren't being followed, but her eyes kept flicking to her rearview mirror anyway.

Since she'd been turned, she'd learned that there were two kinds of people: the paranoid and the dead.

She resisted the urge to turn on the radio, not wanting to wake the girls, simply lost in her own thoughts, and she finally got off the highway when the sun was just rising. She'd been planning what to say for the whole ride, but when she got there, she felt strangely unprepared.

She knew better than to ask if anyone knew where Klaus was, Stefan having given her a quick rundown a few years before (and from Tyler's comments when he thought she wouldn't overhear).

And maybe Rebekah had sent her a drunk text that one time saying that she should come to New Orleans as soon as possible, and that someone named Marcel would know who she was and would help her find a white pony.

Or, at least, she assumed Rebekah had been drunk, since the text had made approximately zero sense.

Whatever.

She pulled into the parking lot of the first hotel she saw and got out of the car, opening the door to Josie's side of the car and unbuckling her from her booster seat. "Are we there yet?" Josie asked sleepily.

"Yep. We're just going to get a hotel room really quick and then we'll get some food, okay?"

"'Kay."

Caroline was mindful not to wake Lizzie, holding her with one hand and letting Josie walk by her, holding her hand. It only took a few minutes to obtain the room key, and Caroline walked them straight back to the car, fending off Josie's questions about why they had to get out of the car if they were just going back in.

She pulled into a mall parking lot and soon they were waiting for some to-go food at a nearby diner . Caroline had texted Klaus twice now, and hadn't received an answer. She couldn't help but worry that he had moved on (that Camille girl he mentioned on the phone call, maybe?), but resolved to call him as soon as they got back to the car.

While Josie and Lizzie were distracted from eating, Caroline held the phone to her ear, breathing sharply when it was answered, but it was an unfamiliar voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Oh, sorry, wrong number, I guess," Caroline stammered, and was about to hang up when the man on the other end of the line.

"No. You're Caroline Forbes?"

"Who are you?" she asked, countering his question with hers.

"Marcel, and I suspect we're working for the same goal."

"Where's Klaus?"

"Gone," Marcel said quietly. "For three years."

"Gone where?"

"I don't know, but I've been trying to find him."

"Then why haven't you?"

"It's complicated. Can we meet?"

Caroline looked at the twins, trying to judge the level of danger before taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Central park. Ten minutes."

"See you there."

 **XXX**

Marcel wasn't quite what she'd expected, to be honest.

He had a wide gleaming smile that reeked of a manipulative personality, but somehow seemed completely genuine when he spoke.

"Why are you here, Caroline?"

She gave him a brief explanation of the whole hunter thing, and he nodded slowly. "All right. I guess these girls are yours?"

"It's complicated," Caroline said evasively, her eyes darting to the girls who were busily playing a game on her iPad.

"Right. Complicated," Marcel repeated. "Well, the reason I haven't found him is that I'm trapped here. If the people that trapped him knew I left...Well, I'd be dead."

"So you want me to go instead?" Caroline asked.

"It would be a mutually beneficial arrangement," Marcel said, that damned gleaming smile in place again. "You'd be on the run anyway, and I agree that Klaus is probably your best chance of survival. I need him back, you need him back…We're on the same side."

"And where do you think he is?"

"I know exactly where he is," Marcel said. "You up for a little road trip to France?"

"That's not a road trip, that's a flight," Caroline pointed out.

"I guess it'll be a long fourteen hours," he said, nodding at the twins, and Caroline resisted the urge to groan.

 **XXX**

Marcel had given her coordinates of a castle, and she'd gotten the first flight out with the twins. She had to admit that she was worried for him, her nervousness radiating off of her on the flight, making Josie and Lizzie restless. What had the Trinity done to him? Was he unconscious, dessicated with a spell? Or was he trapped in a room and left to dessicate naturally, completely conscious of what was going on as his body dried, trapped in his own skin?

She arrived at the ruins of Klaus's supposed resting place. Apparently the girl who locked him up thought it was poetic justice, but Caroline was of the opinion that it was inconvenient.

She had the girls in a stroller and was armed with coloring books, a barrier disrupter (that would apparently take down the cloaking spell), and a compelled human babysitter.

Now the only thing left to do was find him.

As she closed her eyes, trying to sense the familiar itch that crawled across her skin near magic, she tried to fight off the idea that she might not just be there for protection for the twins.

She might be there for him, because she cared about him, even if it was only a little.

And maybe, just maybe, in her heart of hearts, she knew she might be there for herself.

Klaus had managed to creep under her skin and rest there quite comfortably. She'd missed him, even if he wasn't on her mind all the time. Sometimes she'd see a picture of a horse or a bottle of champagne and she'd just feel a tug of loss.

She didn't love him, but she missed him. She wanted him.

Caroline walked towards a patch of earth that looked a bit loose, the odd feeling of itchiness increasing with every step, and she took the stone in her hand, which was carved with strange runes that Marcel insisted would do the trick, and threw it at the patch of earth.

At first, nothing happened, but then a giant tomb just appeared out of nowhere.

Very 12 Grimmauld Place, in Caroline's opinion.

She looked over her shoulder where the twins were peacefully giggling with the woman she'd brought to watch them and decided that it would be best to go alone. Klaus was probably hungry, and the last thing she needed was for him to try to drain two toddler witches dry.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the disrupter and pocketed it before she walked across the threshold, unable to shake the feeling of dread welling up inside of her. She took the stairs that descended underground two at a time, unable to stop herself from looking.

She was so close.

There was a stone door at the bottom, and she tried to push it, finding it locked.

She punched it. The stone splintered, and her hand hurt like a bitch as it stitched itself together, but Klaus was probably behind that door.

It only took another punch and a well-placed kick before the door crumbled, and Caroline gasped when she saw what was inside.

She could make out Klaus's still body chained down to a table, parts of the metal links loose, meaning that he'd probably been conscious as he dessicated. She pressed against the invisible barrier at the door, unsurprised when it didn't give, and threw the rock against it.

There was an almost blinding flash of light, and the rock disintegrated into dust at her feet. When she hesitantly pressed her hand against the barrier, she found it gone.

She sped to Klaus's side immediately, her hand brushing against his cold, hard cheek. She almost could have sworn he flinched.

"I'm going to get you out of here," she said quietly, yanking the chains surrounding him, surprised when they broke without much effort.

She whooshed up the stairs and ordered the human babysitter to come with her. The girl followed her down to the tomb, and Caroline bit into the girl's arm before pressing it to Klaus's mouth.

Was it wrong? Probably.

Did she care? Not really.

She averted her eyes as Klaus drank, not wanting to watch the girl collapse, and when she finally heard the thump, she looked back to see Klaus sitting up. He was a bit sickly looking, but definitely alive.

He gave her a small, tired smile. "Hello, Caroline."

"Klaus."


	7. Make It Work

Summary: Project Runway AU. For those of you who have not seen Project Runway, it's a reality show where fashion designers go through a challenge each week and get eliminated one by one. The finalists have a few months to make a collection to show at New York Fashion Week.

Hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

Caroline's hands twisted as she sat in the row of chairs, trying to ignore Rebekah's glare boring into her skull. They were waiting for their next challenge, and Caroline had a bad feeling about it for some reason.

She'd auditioned for Project Runway twice before she was accepted for this season, and they were a bit more than halfway through the competition now. There were only eight designers left, though Caroline personally felt that only three of the others were strong enough to be considered competition.

One of them was Rebekah, who had been the bane of her existence since the team challenge. They'd won, but only after a lot of fighting and a day of not speaking to each other. Bonnie was also annoyingly good, and Jeremy was strong when he didn't procrastinate.

Matt had a questionable taste level, though, and Luke seemed to make the same dress over and over in slightly different ways. Lexi's garments were boring (though she was also probably the nicest designer there), and Stefan was a wildcard. Some of his designs were good, and others were just horrible.

Either way, Caroline was determined to win, if only for the huge amount of prize money.

And the car. The car would be cool too.

"Good morning, designers."

Caroline looked up to see Katherine Pierce on the runway, holding the velvet button bag and smiling like the demon she was.

The button bag could only mean that they were picking something in order. What would they have to do this time? Pick teams for another horrible team challenge? Re-pick models? Choose what decade they were designing for?

"Today, we'll be doing a challenge with some familiar faces," Katherine said with a wide smile. "Let's bring out your models."

When the first person walked out, a tall dark-haired man, Caroline's mind started to race through the possibilities. Menswear? A B-list actor she didn't know?

It was only when she heard Stefan mumble the name of the brother he'd talked about that she realized what this was.

It was one of those challenges where they had to work with family members of other designers.

As the "models" continued to file out, she realized that the challenge must be menswear, and when her best friend Enzo walked out, she gave him a small smile, which he returned, mouthing 'hello, gorgeous' and sending her a wink.

"Boyfriend?" Rebekah asked, her voice mocking.

"Ew, no," Caroline said, wrinkling her nose.

"You'll be designing a menswear look for an event coming up for the client. Keep in mind that your client's reaction to the look is very important and will affect your overall score. Let's introduce them."

Katherine went down the line, listing the names of the men, though she didn't mention who was the family member or friend of who.

"Since Bonnie has immunity, she gets to choose first."

"You on the end," she said, and Katherine smiled.

"Kai. Luke's brother. Now, I'll pick your names out of the bag," she said, pulling out a button. "Caroline."

She bit her lip, considering her options. The man who was obviously Stefan's brother was good-looking, but he wouldn't fit her aesthetic. There was also a guy that she suspected was Rebekah's brother, as they looked a bit alike, but he would be perfect. Hopefully he wasn't as high strung, though he was scowling as though he'd rather be anywhere else.

"You. Sorry, what's your name again?"

"Klaus," he said unenthusiastically before waiting for Katherine's nod and walking away, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Clearly not excited to be participating. Great.

 **XXX**

"Hey. I'm Caroline," she greeted once they got back to the workroom, a small smile on her face as she stuck out her hand.

Klaus gave her a calculating glance before he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, love."

She tried not to bristle at the endearment (keeping on your client's good side was essential to this sort of challenge), and pulled out her sketchpad, tugging a pencil out of her purse. "Okay, so. What's your event?"

"My sister's birthday party," he said dryly.

"Oh, that's nice," she said, quickly brainstorming a list of possibilities. "Is it formal?"

"It had better be," Rebekah said from over her shoulder.

Caroline couldn't help but roll her eyes, and she could have sworn that Klaus was fighting down a laugh.

"Rebekah, aren't you supposed to be helping your client?" Caroline asked through gritted teeth.

"Probably," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Just don't make him look bad."

"I don't think that's possible," Caroline said, her point being that she was too good to _ever_ dress him horribly, but Klaus seemed to take it differently, a smirk stretching across his face. "Not what I meant," she said waspishly, and he just grinned.

"Of course it wasn't, love."

"So. Is a suit okay?"

"Of course."

"Colors? Fabrics?"

"I'm sure I can trust you."

She nodded, deciding not to argue. She'd done menswear before, mostly because she knew the challenge might come up and decided to be prepared. "All right. Let me just get your measurements, and–"

She looked up to see Klaus pulling his shirt off and averted her eyes quickly, but not before getting a glimpse of some tattoos and a _very_ nice set of abs.

"You don't need to strip for me," she said dryly, ignoring the camera guy next to them who was clearly fighting down a laugh.

"I'm happy to help you in whatever way I can, including to get the most accurate measurements possible."

She collected herself quickly, grabbing her tape measure and resolving to be professional, pretending not to notice his smug smirk (and his unashamed perusal of her body as she moved).

She could do this. It was going to be fine.

She shot a look up at Klaus as she knelt down to measure his inside leg (thankfully he'd left his jeans on), and when she saw how he was looking at her, eyes dark and calculating, she looked back down, fighting the blush spreading over her cheeks.

This was _so_ not going to be fine.

 **XXX**

Caroline took a deep calming breath and splashed some water on her face. They were about to have their first fitting, and she needed to stay professional. She fluffed her hair, freshened her lipstick, and walked out just in time for their mentor to send in the clients.

She busied herself with arranging what she had, waiting until Klaus cleared his throat next to her.

"Okay, so I have the pants and jacket done. Just keep on your shirt and change behind the screen."

She handed him the garments and turned to pick up the half-finished shirt, inspecting it critically, wondering if she should change the style of it. Klaus tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to face him.

The jacket and trousers fit perfectly, and she nodded to herself. "Sorry, I'm going to have to touch you to adjust them."

"Oh, touch me all you want, sweetheart. I don't mind."

"Don't," she said firmly. "I'm not interested, especially when we're on national television."

He just gave her a dimpled smile.

Once he'd changed out of the garments again, he had about an hour before he had to leave, so he leaned against the table and watched her work. Caroline had never been good with long silences, and she cleared her throat uncomfortably. "So, Rebekah's birthday, huh?"

"It's an event," he said. "She's very particular."

Caroline's lips twitched. "Yeah, I know. Do you guys have other siblings?"

"Quite a few, actually. Elijah was supposed to be the one to come on the show, but he had a business trip at the last minute, and we decided not to inflict Kol on the poor unsuspecting contestants."

"He's trouble, then?"

"Oh, you have no idea. Do you have siblings?"

For some reason, she felt like the conversation wasn't just small talk, and he truly wanted to know. "Nope. The closest is Enzo."

"Ah, the one my sister is currently torturing?"

"Yep. He can handle her, though. No offense."

"None taken."

They were quiet for a few seconds before Klaus spoke again. "So, do you design for a living? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't, actually. I work for a tutoring center in Brooklyn. I taught myself to sew as a hobby. What do you do?"

"I work in marketing. Nothing special."

Caroline nodded, sticking a pin between her teeth to hold it as she rolled the cuffs of the shirt slightly.

She couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching her, though she didn't turn around to check, and when the mentor came back in the room to say it was time to say goodbye, he gave her a dimpled smile, his hand stuck in his pockets.

"Until tomorrow, sweetheart."

"Yep."

 **XXX**

Caroline gave a hurried explanation to the hair stylist of what she wanted for Klaus's hair before practically sprinting down the stairs again, cursing herself for wearing heels.

She grabbed the almost-done shirt and pushed it through the sewing machine. She had been mostly done when he came, but she always seemed to have more to do to make the garment completely perfect.

When she finally slowed down to consider the finished look, she had to fight to keep her face straight, giving herself a mental pat on the back for making him look good.

Well, better than he had before.

Frankly, that was hard, so extra kudos.

He seemed content as well, and Rebekah came over to shoot him an assessing glance.

"That doesn't look terrible," she said slowly. "This button is off, though."

"Well, I'm sure you can fix it once we all go home," Caroline said sweetly.

This time she was sure Klaus was trying not to laugh. Rebekah's lips curled into a small smile, though. "It'll do."

Caroline didn't have a chance to respond before they were all herded to the runway room, and she was directed to her seat on the side.

The show was a blur, and when Caroline walked back to the waiting room with the rest of the designers, Rebekah sat down beside her, her legs primly crossed at the ankle, hands in her lap.

"He likes you," she said quietly.

"I don't know what you mean."

Rebekah scoffed. "Look, I don't like you, but I'm not blind. If he doesn't ask you out at the end of this I'll eat my Louboutins."

"We can't talk about this now," Caroline said quietly, her eyes darting to the cameras pointedly.

Rebekah shrugged. "Well, you'll have plenty of time while you're making your collection for fashion week."

"You think I'll make it to fashion week? Rebekah, was that a compliment?" Caroline teased.

"I'm not going to answer that."

They were called back to the runway a few seconds later, and when Caroline was told to stay for the judging portion, she felt the fear build in her gut, as it did every time she got comments from the judges.

Klaus stood beside her, his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and he seemed to sense that she was anxious because he nudged her lightly with his shoulder. "Relax, sweetheart."

"Let's start with Caroline," Katherine said. "Tell us about your look."

Caroline rattled off her prepared speech, and the judges nodded a long, giving her small compliments.

"And how is this for you?" Katherine asked Klaus.

"It's exactly what I wanted," he said, honesty prevalent in his tone, and Caroline couldn't help but smile.

When they filed off the runway (after a particularly scathing critique of Stefan's football-inspired look for Matt's friend Tyler), Caroline sighed in relief.

"All right, love?"

"I always get nervous," she confessed. "I mean, I know I'm good, but it's different when people are tearing apart every single thing you do."

"They seemed to like it," he pointed out.

"Yeah. That's true."

He was herded out with the rest of the models to the other room to wait while the designers stayed in the waiting room. Rebekah was clearly nervous now (having also been in the top three), but she shot Caroline a small smile.

Were they friends now? Whatever.

Caroline smiled back.

 **XXX**

[From: 212-555-1045]: Hello, Caroline. Rebekah gave me your cell phone number. I hope that's all right. Now that you're preparing for fashion week and have some more free time, I was wondering if you'd allow me to take you out to dinner.

[To: Klaus]: Yeah, actually. That would be great. Are you free Friday?

[From: Klaus]: For you? Of course.

[To: Klaus]: Flattery will get you nowhere.

[To: Klaus]: Pick me up at the tutoring center at six. I'll text you the address.

 **XXX**

[To: Klaus]: I had a lot of fun on Friday. Do you want to get together next week? Maybe for drinks?

[From: Klaus]: I'd love to. Tuesday at eight?

[To: Klaus]: Sure. Should I meet you when you get off work?

[From: Klaus]: That's fine, sweetheart. Shall I text you?

[To: Klaus]: Yeah, sure.

 **XXX**

[To: Klaus]: Do you want to come to Enzo's birthday party on Saturday?

[To: Klaus]: You can bring Rebekah.

[From: Klaus]: I'm sorry sweetheart, but I can't. Business trip.

[From: Klaus]: I'll miss you.

[To: Klaus]: I'll miss you too.

[To: Klaus]: Kind of sad. I have an awesome dress. You'd like it.

[From: Klaus]: You're beautiful in whatever you wear. The only place your clothes could possibly look better is if they're on my floor…

[To: Klaus]: That was SO bad.

[From: Klaus]: But true.

[To: Klaus]: I'll send pictures.

[From: Klaus]: With or without the dress?

[To: Klaus]: We'll see.

 **XXX**

[From: Klaus]: Good luck, sweetheart.

[To: Klaus]: Thanks!

[To: Klaus]: I'm really nervous.

[From: Klaus]: I'd be worried if you weren't.

[To: Klaus]: No seriously though.

[From: Klaus]: Rebekah is a very sore loser, but I'm sure you can handle it.

[From: Klaus]: Don't tell her I said that.

[To: Klaus]: You're a terrible brother.

[To: Klaus]: I expect very enthusiastic congratulatory sex.

[From: Klaus]: Obviously.

 **XXX**

[To: Klaus]: My hotel room. 15 minutes.

[From: Klaus]: Escaped the party already?

[To: Klaus]: You have thirteen minutes left.

[To: Klaus]: Don't keep your famous fashion designer girlfriend waiting.

[To: Klaus]: I will start without you.

* * *

Please let me know what you thought! :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie


	8. Firewhiskey

Summary: Harry Potter AU. Caroline has never tried firewhiskey and gets drunk.

* * *

"Never?" he shouted over the pulsing beat of the music filling the club.

Caroline shook her head, taking another sip of butterbeer and watching warily as Klaus gave her a dimpled grin before knocking back the rest of his glass of firewhiskey. He was only slightly tipsy, and he'd probably sober up within the next few minutes with the help of the potion he'd taken before they left. "No. I've always kind of wondered what it would be like, though."

"Have you ever been drunk?" he asked, an eyebrow raised as he fiddled with the shot glass.

"No," she said slowly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I dare you."

"What's in it for me?" she asked, glaring at the shot glass as though it had mortally offended her.

Knowing his girlfriend, it probably had.

"A favor."

"What kind of favor?" she asked.

"What do you want?"

"You'll just let me pick?" she asked, her lips twitching.

"Within reason."

"That's a terrible decision, especially since you have literally no reason to get me drunk, but okay."

"You want to. That's enough of a reason."

"I never said I wanted to," she said slowly.

"You never said you didn't."

She grimaced, but nodded. He grinned, motioning for the bartender to pour her a shot of firewhiskey, and she just stared at it.

"You're not going to let anything happen to me, right?" she asked.

"Of course not. Caroline, if you don't want to do it, don't do it."

"No, I kind of want to. I'm curious."

"I promise that you'll be safe with me. I'll stop you if you get too drunk, and I won't let you do anything you'll seriously regret."

She bit her lip before nodding. "Okay, sounds like a plan."

Three shots later, Klaus was regretting his decision.

"But baby, I want to dance."

"Don't call me 'baby', Caroline," Klaus said for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Fine, sweetheart," she said, her words slightly slurred, though the sarcasm was clearly conveyed. "Dance with me."

"You know I don't dance, sweetheart."

"Fine, I'll dance without you."

Visions of Caroline dancing on a table flashed through his mind and he grabbed her arm. "No, love."

"But I want to dance, and you won't dance with me."

"Fine," he managed through gritted teeth. "I'll dance with you."

The smile she gave him would have been adorable if she hadn't nearly toppled over when she tried to take a step.

"All right there, love?"

"Yeah."

"Caroline?"

Klaus and Caroline both turned to see Bonnie looking at her friend, both eyebrows raised. "Are you...Are you _drunk_?"

"No. I just had a few shots. I'm fine."

"She's drunk," Bonnie said, looking at Klaus. "Why is she drunk?"

"She wanted to," Klaus said, shrugging as he watched Caroline attack Bonnie in a hug.

"You're my best friend, Bonnet Bennie."

Bonnie patted her on the back, clearly trying not to laugh. "You're my best friend too, Care."

Caroline pulled away, and Klaus grabbed her arm before she could fall, pulling her into his side. "Where's Kol?"

Bonnie shrugged, sipping on her water. "I don't know. I was going to ask you– Oh, there he is," Bonnie said, sighing as she spotted Kol arguing with the DJ (Stefan, Elena's boyfriend) about whether the Muggle band Bon Jovi classified as "music".

"Um, I'll leave you to not being drunk," Bonnie said as she walked away, waving at them over her shoulder.

"Bye Bon!" Caroline said cheerfully before turning to Klaus. "Dance with me, baby."

"Don't call me 'baby'."

She turned and slung her arms around his shoulders, pressing herself against him, and he was honestly impressed that she seemed to be moving along to the beat of the song.

"I think I'm drunk," she said, her face completely serious.

"I know, sweetheart."

She grinned, his hands on her hips keeping her steady as they moved. "This isn't that bad, actually."

"I'll tell you that you said that tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm sure. But it'll be that much sweeter when I get my favor."

"Oh? Have you decided what you wanted already?"

"Of course," she said, scoffing. "It's a secret, though."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"I promise I won't tell."

"Nice try, mister," she slurred, poking him in the chest.

"It was worth a try."

She laid her head on his chest, her eyes closing. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"No, like, I _really_ love you."

"I love you too," he said patiently.

"Like, a lot."

"Noted."

"You're supposed to say 'I love you' back, Klaus. It's the rule."

"I love you back."

They danced for another minute or so before he felt all her weight slump against him. "I'm tired."

"Do you want to go home?"

"I don't think I should apparate."

"I don't either," he said, his lips twitching. "Let's take the Knight Bus. Come on, sweetheart."

"I don't want to take the Knight Bus. It's too shaky."

"It'll be over before you know it, love."

When he finally flagged the bus down, Caroline was half asleep against him, and they got on to find the beds half-full. He picked her up, setting her down on the closest empty bed, and sat down beside her. She snuggled against him, her head on his shoulder. "I don't feel good."

"Do you want me to put a sleeping charm on you?" he asked, not wanting her to throw up.

She nodded and he waved his wand, muttering the incantation, and she slumped against him, her breathing even.

When they arrived at their apartment building (they were renting in a Muggle neighborhood), he picked her up and took the elevator to their floor, checking to see if there was anyone around before he tapped the door with his wand to open it.

He dressed her in her pajamas and climbed into bed beside her after a quick shower. When he woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of Caroline throwing up. He grimaced, sliding out of bed and checking the clock.

"You all right, sweetheart?"

"Never let me drink again," she said, her voice a rough croak.

He walked into the bathroom and found her curled up on the tile shielding her eyes. "Make me a hangover potion."

"All right, love," he said agreeably, and she glared at him through one eye as he left the bathroom, going to the portable cauldron in the kitchen to brew.

A half hour later, she was munching toast, though she was still a bit shaky. "So, do you want to know what your favor is?" she asked between mouthfuls.

"Yes."

"I want you to do the thing."

"The thing?" he asked slowly.

"Yep. I still have my school uniform, and I know you have yours…"

"That's not exactly a hardship, love."

"Yeah, but you honestly deserve a reward, not me being an ass. Thanks for taking care of me last night, by the way."

"Do I get ten points?" he asked teasingly.

"Ask me when you're in your tie, and we'll see."

* * *

Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think :)

Hugs!

-Angie


	9. His Alibi

Super short. Carenzo as police partners. Klaus as Caroline's one-time one night stand and current murder suspect. Enzo enjoys the situation WAY too much.

* * *

"Oh, fuck."

"All right there, Gorgeous?" Enzo asked slowly, turning to face Caroline as she looked through the one-way window to the interrogation room.

"Fuck shit motherfucker fuck…"

"I'll take that as a no, then."

"Remember that one time when I got super drunk with Bonnie at that club and went home with that guy?"

"There was more than one time."

"Whatever. That guy is the most recent one-nighter."

"The most recent one-night stand? Not the one you've been secretly shagging for two weeks and thought I didn't know about?"

"Okay, you're creepy."

"Best friend duties, gorgeous. Either way, that's unfortunate. He's currently the front-runner for the Most Likely to Commit Patricide Award."

"How long has he been a suspect?"

"Two days."

"Seriously? Oh my god, I can't go in there."

"Why not?"

"It's a conflict of interest."

"Why?"

Caroline took a deep breath. "You know why. I can't be in a relationship with a suspect."

"Oh, so now it's a relationship?"

"Whatever. If he's been a suspect while we've been having sex, that's against the rules. I could lose my badge, Enzo."

"You didn't know."

"I should have. It's not like I didn't have access to the case file. He knew what I did for a living, Enzo. He knows I could get fired. What if he says something?"

"Calm down, gorgeous. I'll go in there and you can wait behind the mirror. Hopefully he'll have an alibi and check out before anyone has to find out."

"That's the problem, Enzo."

"What's the problem?"

"I _am_ his alibi."

Enzo managed to turn his laugh into a cough, and Caroline glared at him.

"This is not funny, Enzo," she hissed.

"I never said it was," Enzo said, clearly fighting down a smile.

"You're laughing."

"No, I'm not. Look, everything's going to be all right. Perhaps it's best if you came in with me. It'll be over quickly that way."

Caroline took a deep breath and nodded, and followed Enzo into the interrogation room. "Thank you for coming in, Mr. Mikaelson. I'm Detective Augustine, and this is Detective Forbes, and we're here to talk about the night your father was murdered."

Klaus shot Caroline a raised eyebrow, and she looked away, clearing her throat.

"I need you to tell me where you were at 10:30pm on the 16th of January," Caroline said.

Klaus snorted. "You've got to be joking, love."

"Nope."

"As I recall, I was at my girlfriend's apartment, although I might be a bit hazy on the timing. She was quite the distraction."

Caroline choked on air at the word 'girlfriend', blushing furiously, and this time Enzo didn't manage to restrain his laugh.

"Can your girlfriend corroborate that?"

"I don't know. Can she?" he asked, giving her a heated stare.

Caroline considered her options for a few seconds before nodding. "I think your alibi checks out, Mr. Mikaelson."

She held his stare when his tongue darted out to wet his lips, and he smirked before standing up, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Will that be all?"

"We'll call you in if we need anything else," Caroline said. "Thank you for coming."

"For you? Anytime, sweetheart."

Caroline's eye twitched, and she heard Enzo snigger next to her.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought :)


	10. poptartsparkle1992

Mini-drabble. Soulmate AU where you have the first words your soulmate will say to you tattooed on your arm. Klaus's is highly unfortunate.

* * *

When Klaus woke up on his eighteenth birthday with "poptartsparkle1992" tattooed on his arm, he was not amused.

At all.

Kol was, though.

"You're taking the piss," Kol said slowly, pulling Klaus's arm to look at it, ignoring his brother's attempts to shake him off. "Did you lie about your birthday and write it? No? This is honestly...Wow. I almost feel bad enough to not be a prick about it."

"Almost?" Klaus asked dryly.

 **XXX**

Caroline groaned in relief as she kicked off her heels, dropping her bag on the side table. This new internship was kicking her ass. She frowned when she heard her roommate's voice from the next room, and a responding male voice, though she couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Caroline?" Rebekah called, poking her head out of her room and dragging a guy behind her. "What's the wi-fi password? Nik needs it."

"poptartsparkle1992," Caroline said to Rebekah's brother, who froze. "What? It was my Neopets username. Don't judge me."

"I'm not judging, sweetheart," he said, and Caroline knew why he was looking at her like that, the words written on her arm burning against her skin.

"I am so sorry," she blurted.

"For what?" he asked.

"You must literally have 'poptartsparkle1992' tattooed on your arm."

"You're welcome to make it up to me," he offered, his dimples flashing, and Caroline scoffed, scrunching her nose.

"Seriously? You're disgusting."

"Says the person whose Neopets username was 'poptartsparkle1992'."

"I was ten!" she said defensively, her voice rising.

"You still didn't have to make it your wi-fi password."

"Oh, was I supposed to just assume that the soulmate tattoo on your arm would be the unfortunate username I picked as a child? I didn't spend my entire life preparing for your arrival."

"Well maybe you should have."

"Maybe you should come back when you've pulled your head out of your ass."

"Maybe you should be more considerate of your soulmate who was cursed with your stupid username."

"My username wasn't stupid. I was _ten_ ," she said again before stomping to the kitchenette and aggressively pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"That escalated quickly," Rebekah muttered before fighting down a smile as Klaus and Caroline both snarled, 'Shut up, Bekah.'

* * *

Please tell me what you thought :)


	11. Guard Dog

Summary: Klaus usually goes out to run in his werewolf form on full moons, but this time he stays inside, and Caroline's a bit fed up with his interruptions.

* * *

It wasn't that Caroline didn't like Klaus's company.

No, after being in a relationship for half a century, she could honestly say that she enjoyed it. Of course, it wasn't as if she'd expected to not like spending time with him when she arrived, or she wouldn't have come, but he had honestly been a lot better at the whole relationship thing than she'd thought he would.

However, full moons had been _her_ day since she'd arrived. He would almost always go out to the nearest forest to wherever they were living and run around for the night, just to let his wolf out, and she would stay in, taking some much-needed 'me time'.

It wasn't that Klaus was controlling or that he wouldn't let her do things by herself, but it was nice to have a night that guaranteed her no interruptions, since he seemed to have difficulty understanding why she'd need four hours alone to paint her nails or watch television. Why couldn't she cuddle with him while she watched terrible reality shows? Why couldn't she sit in his study when she painted her nails just to be in his general vicinity?

She figured that it had something to do with the whole soulmate thing. She wasn't quite sure she believed in it, but if it kept Klaus from attacking her in his wolf form, she wouldn't question it.

Klaus not attacking her in his wolf form was especially useful when he seemed to not want to fucking _leave the house_.

"Klaus, get off," she said, trying to push him off of the couch next to her.

He just looked up at her reproachfully, his head firmly resting on her thigh, clearly not intending to move anytime soon.

"I'm trying to read," she said, waving the book in front of his face.

Books were one of the only things she'd had as a child that hadn't gone out of the mainstream yet, though you could now listen to a much-more-accurate text-to-speech version if you pressed a button on the spine.

She liked actually reading though, and normally she was able to get absorbed enough that Klaus wouldn't bother interrupting. This time, though, it seemed he had different ideas.

He let out a whine, his tail thumping against the couch, and she glared down at him. "Klaus. Seriously."

He was annoying her on purpose, she was sure, and she did not appreciate it. He just watched her while she read, and she gave up after a few minutes, throwing her book down next to her in exasperation. "What is your problem tonight? Go outside or something."

He let out a soft whine and she scratched him behind the ears, sighing. He shot her an accusatory look, clearly annoyed at her treating him like an actual dog, but gave a small contented hum anyway, his eyes closing.

It was clear he wasn't going to move, so she pushed herself off the couch, ignoring his huff when he was dislodged from his place next to her, and he got off the couch to follow her. She grumbled to herself as she got blood from the refrigerator and made coffee, pouring it in, Klaus in the other room, pacing.

"Klaus, this is supposed to be my alone night," she said again, knowing that if he hadn't left now, he wouldn't, but still feeling obligated to try.

She frowned when she saw him sitting by the front window, looking out of it every few seconds, and sighed when she realized why he was staying, all the anger draining from her.

Someone had sent them a box with a stake and a picture of Caroline, which had clearly been taken just days before when they were walking around town, buried in a huge pile of vervain. The meaning had been clear, and Klaus had been on edge ever since.

"You know I'll be okay, Klaus. The human that can invite people inside isn't here right now. You should go."

When he just sent her what could only qualify as a glare and turned back to the window, she sighed and walked up the stairs to their bedroom, setting the mug on the bedside table and resigned to him padding into the room just moments later, jumping on the bed.

"Klaus, you know I hate hair on the bed," she protested half-heartedly.

He didn't move.

She curled up next to him, smiling slightly when he curled up closer to her, his body positioned so that he could easily watch the door while still in constant contact with her. She really couldn't be that mad, since he was just concerned, and there was a rational reason for it.

She stroked his fur, ignoring his huff that indicated the complaint _'I'm not a dog, sweetheart_ ', which he said whenever she did anything even remotely close to petting.

Still, he let her run her hands through his hair on lazy late mornings while they were wrapped up in each other in their bed, and she suspected he enjoyed it. He just had appearances to keep up (or whatever).

"I love you."

...

"Ew, Klaus, don't lick my face. That's gross. Oh my god..."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think :)


	12. Livestream

**Summary:** Caroline and Klaus are vloggers who live across the world from each other. When their fans begin to sense that there might be a bit more than friendship to their relationship, they raise money to buy one of them a plane ticket. For the lovely Camille, who celebrated her birthday recently.

Livestreaming is when you post a video in real time and people watch it and respond to it while you're doing it. The song Caroline mentions from Klaus's channel is one that Joseph mentioned in an interview that he used to get into character.

 **ALSO, JUST A FEW QUICK WORDS** because, just as I insisted that you not fuck your teachers, please **be mindful** when you meet people from the internet in real life. Practice good safety, trust your gut, etc.

* * *

Caroline hummed to herself as she scrolled through some possible options for her recommendation of the week for her youtube channel, wanting to get the video over with quickly. It was hot and humid, as New Orleans summers tended to be, and her building's air conditioning had broken, so she was looking forward to a cold shower and her bed.

She was sorely tempted to pick this girl Bonnie who made videos with step by step magic trick instructions (super cool), but she kept going back to this guy that she just _couldn't stop watching_ who made really moody black-and-white videos of acoustic guitar covers.

He was _really_ hot, too.

With an accent.

Yum.

It took more than a few extra takes for her to get through the recommendation before she was satisfied with it, and she finally finished the editing by midnight, posting it right before midnight and stretching as she stood, turning to get ready for bed.

 **XXX**

"Nik, you have to see this!"

Klaus stirred, his eyes opening blearily as he groped on his side table for his phone, checking the time. If he'd known that baby-sitting Rebekah (though the sixteen-year-old insisted that he was simply house-sitting with her conveniently placed on the property) for two weeks while their parents were away would involve her shaking him awake at the crack of dawn on a Sunday he would not have agreed.

"D'you know what time it is, Bekah?"

"Seven-thirty-something," she said, sitting down on his bed and shoving her tablet in his face. "But I woke up to check Caroline's channel-"

Klaus groaned, trying to resist shoving his pillow over his head to drown out Rebekah and her incessant chatter about the American DIY vlogger that she was obsessed with, but Rebekah seemed to catch on to what he was doing and grabbed his wrist before he could roll over. "No, NIk, look at this!"

He resigned himself to not making her go away until he listened to her, and he sat up, squinting at the screen of the tablet.

Caroline was quite pretty, he realized as he watched Rebekah fiddle around with the timestamp to find the place she wanted before she hit 'play'.

" _So, I've been totally obsessed with this guy's channel for the last week or two. He does acoustic covers, usually of classic rock songs, but my favorite of his right now is his cover of Muse's version of Feeling Good..."_ she said, her eyes bright as she talked about it, hands waving enthusiastically, and he watched with fascination as she spoke, barely processing the words and then making a smug Rebekah play it over again so that he could hear what she'd actually said.

The second it was over, he handed the tablet back to Rebekah without another word, opening his laptop to write an email to the address listed in her info page.

 **Six months later...**

"C'mon, Klaus. I think it could be fun. You don't have to be all grumpy about it," Caroline said, half-laughing as she cradled her phone between her cheek and shoulder, sinking down on her couch, her legs curled up under her as she grabbed the remote and her laptop.

"I'm not grumpy, love. Simply hesitant."

"And why's that?"

She and Klaus had appeared on each other's YouTube channels a few times in the past six months, usually for challenges or games, though they talked almost every day, and their subscribers that were on tumblr knew they were friends from their open conversations and tags.

They'd flirted in private, though nothing had ever come of it (both of them somehow silently agreeing that they couldn't do long-distance), and she had been on the 'Klaroline' tumblr tag a grand total of once.

It was a very scary place.

Mostly because of the temptation it held.

There had been a few requests for a Q&A with both of them, and though she was totally on-board (just for publicity, she only half-successfully convinced herself), Klaus seemed a bit more unsure.

"I'm just not really amenable to the possibility of personal questions being aired on the internet, especially via livestream."

"Okay, well if you don't want to we don't have to. I just think it could be interesting to see what people ask."

Klaus was silent for a moment, and she could almost see his expression in her mind's eye, his gaze averted, lips pressed together as he considered her proposal.

"Fine then, love."

Two weeks later, they were livestreaming via Skype, and Caroline had just sent out a tweet and a tumblr post asking for questions. There had been a steady trickle of them for the first few seconds before a veritable onslaught of messages appeared in the feed.

"What's my favorite food?" Caroline read the question out loud, biting her lip. "Um, I like pizza? With sausage and anchovies, usually."

Klaus made a face, and she put a hand to her chest in mock offense. "What?"

"There is a special place in hell for people who enjoy fish on pizza, love."

Caroline tossed her hair. "What do you like on your pizza, then?"

"Sundried tomatoes, feta, and-"

"Oh, I forgot, you're one of _those_ people," Caroline interrupted with a sigh for dramatic effect.

Klaus just gave her a dimpled grin.

"Will you marry me, Klaus?" Caroline read out from a message, trying to rein in her giggles. "From girl to girl, I don't know if that would be a good life choice for you. He's kind of a dick."

"I take offense to that," he said grumpily, and she just gave him a teasing smile. "And sorry love, but I happen to have had my heart stolen by another," he said with a wink.

Caroline felt her heart drop into her stomach, though she tried not to show it. "Oh yeah? Who's the lucky girl?"

She saw messages flying through the chat faster than she could read them, but she didn't bother, just watching Klaus's face as he seemed to consider his answer for a moment before he spoke.

"I don't know if she'd ever forgive me if I told everyone on social media before her."

Caroline managed a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess that wouldn't be very romantic, would it?"

She meant it to come off as a joke, and she was sure he took it that way, but she couldn't help the flash of jealousy in her gut as she pictured Klaus smiling at another girl the way he smiled at her.

They were both quiet for a moment before she jerked herself back to the hundreds of questions streaming in and picked a safer one.

"So, Klaus, if you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring three things, assuming that the necessities were all taken care of, what would they be?"

 **XXX**

Klaus groaned as his phone blared at three in the morning, and his voice was rough with sleep when he answered it.

"Caroline?"

"Klaus, did you see the thing?"

"See what thing, sweetheart?" he asked, pulling himself out of bed and grabbing his laptop, trying not to yawn.

"I sent it to you over Skype."

He frowned as he pulled up the program, clicking the link she'd sent, and his eyebrows raised when he read the description. "They're raising money to fly me to New Orleans?"

He'd been a bit awkward in the week after he'd nearly confessed his feelings for Caroline over social media on bloody _livestream_. He'd wanted it to be more meaningful than that (or, as Caroline put it, "romantic").

He knew Caroline liked him. He wasn't oblivious, and he wasn't going to pretend to be. He was absolutely certain that his feelings for her were returned (though he had a niggling feeling that she hadn't yet realized that he reciprocated hers).

However, she lived across the ocean, and though they'd both occasionally mentioned that one of them should fly to visit the other, neither had ever actually done anything about it.

Clearly, though, that was about to change.

Klaus read the title again with a small, wry smile.

 _Bring Klaroline to NOLA_ , indeed.

 **XXX**

Caroline was even more beautiful in person than she was on camera, he discovered when she met him at the baggage claim.

She was in a pristinely white summer dress, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, and she gave him a tight hug as soon as he was within snatching distance, which he returned, laughing quietly and trying not to be too obvious while he committed the feel of her skin to memory, savoring the scent of her shampoo.

"How was your flight?"

"Long," he said, unable to look away from her face. "But most definitely worth it."

She blushed but held his gaze. "It's good to see you. Finally."

He gave her a dimpled smile, and they chatted as they walked to her car in the airport parking lot. He hadn't ever imagined that the ease with which they spoke online could translate to reality, but she was every bit as intriguing, every bit as _bright_ , as he'd imagined.

It wasn't long before they pulled up in front of what must have been her apartment building.

"So, if you promise you're not a serial killer, you can stay in my guest room."

"I promise," he said. "Although, I hate to say this sweetheart, but that's what any self-respecting serial killer would say."

She just smiled. "Don't worry. I shelled out for the background check. I know you're clean."

Ten minutes later, they were settled on the couch with apple juice and leftover pasta, talking and laughing as though they'd known each other for years, rather than it being the first time they ever _really_ met.

"Oh, shit. We should do a quick vlog just to let them know you got here in one piece," Caroline said, and Klaus nodded, watching her open her laptop and bend over it, her manicured fingernails clicking over the keys, giving him an excellent view down her blouse.

"Ready?" she asked with a bright smile, scooting slightly on the couch and patting the space beside her.

"Just one thing first, sweetheart," he said as he sat, and she gave him a suspicious look when she saw the way he was looking at her.

He knew he must look a bit silly, drinking her face in with his eyes as though he'd never get another look (and maybe he'd been wrong about her feelings, maybe it would be the last time he saw her).

"What? Do I have something on my f-"

Her lips were soft when he hesitantly touched them with his, and she stilled for a moment before kissing him back fervently, her arms winding around his neck, his hands resting on her waist.

When they finally pulled back for air, he tucked a blonde curl behind her ear, smiling at the way her lips were swollen from the way he'd nibbled them between his teeth, her skin flushed from the brush of his thumb across her cheekbone.

"I thought you liked someone else," she said slowly, hesitantly.

"No. I just knew you wouldn't like my saying it for the first time to be over livestream. For a public figure, you're quite the private person, love."

She smiled. "Yeah. Thanks. For thinking of what I'd want, I mean."

"Of course, love."

"I like you too, by the way," she said, almost awkwardly, and he grinned, pressing another soft kiss to her lips before pulling away.

"So, now that that's out of the way, shall we do the update for our loyal followers?"

She laughed, shaking her head and closing the laptop, turning to face him more fully. "I have a better idea, I think..."

He never quite ended up making it to the guest room.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this :) Let me know what you thought!

Hugs!  
-Angie


	13. Fake It 'Til You Make It

Summary: Sequel to "A Huge Favor" which is Chapter 5 of this fic. Fake dating au, basically.

* * *

He kissed her.

He could still feel the softness of her cheek against his lips, still remember the look of wonder and confusion on her face as he pulled away before he made a less-than-graceful retreat.

Caroline was brilliant, and Klaus knew that she liked him just as much as he fancied her, but he also knew that she was scared of starting a relationship. It was most likely that she was worried about ruining their friendship, but honestly Klaus couldn't give a damn.

This trip was unexpected, though, and he was worried that they'd be found out and it would drive Caroline further away. Or, worse, his family would hate her (though he didn't know how it could be possible to hate Caroline), and they'd put pressure on them to "break up" and Caroline would use it as an excuse to run.

He turned around to see Caroline come down the stairs. She'd changed into a dress from her plane clothes and refreshed her make-up, and she gave him a smirk.

"So, remember when I told you that I'd make your life a tiny bit miserable once we got here?"

"Yes," Klaus said, suddenly dreading Caroline meeting everyone more than he could have possibly imagined.

"Just roll with whatever I say, okay?"

"All right," he said reluctantly.

"Promise?"

"Yes."

He reached out to tangle his fingers in hers (and it felt so unbelievably _right_ ), squeezing her hand lightly.

"Ready, sweetheart?"

"As I'll ever be, honey," she said, giving him a the playful smirk that he couldn't help but want to kiss, her thumb absentmindedly stroking circles on his skin.

"Caroline..."

"You said you'd roll with it," she sang, and he sighed.

"Fine."

 **XXX**

The moment she'd walked in with Klaus, she'd met his mother Esther, who gave her an obvious once over and a disdainful sniff, her spine perfectly straight as she stood in her perfectly pressed white tweed suit and beige heels.

"You're Caroline," she said, as more of a statement then a question, and Caroline had the bizarre urge to either curtsy or hide.

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Please, call me Esther," the woman said with a cold smile, shaking Caroline's offered hand firmly. "And how are you, Niklaus?"

Klaus kissed his mother quickly on the cheek, sliding his arm around Caroline's waist, his hand pressing against the small of her back. "I've been doing well, thank you. And you've been doing well, I hope?"

Esther gave a quick nod and a tight smile, her eyes darting between them, fixing on Caroline's somewhat stiff posture, and how guarded Klaus looked, and Caroline could see the seeds of doubt blooming in the woman's mind.

She moved slightly closer to Klaus, trying to look comfortable pressed against him, and gave Esther her best thousand-watt smile. "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Mikaelson. I'm excited to meet everyone."

She turned to Klaus to suggest that he introduce her to everyone and was caught almost breathless by the way he was looking at her, as though she was the most important thing in the world, the center of his universe.

He was a good actor.

She smiled back, and he seemed to snap out of whatever spell he was under, turning back to his mother, who now looked slightly more welcoming.

"Of course. I'm just finishing dinner now, but Henrik has been asking after you since Elijah called to say that your flight had landed."

Caroline wondered how Esther planned on finishing up a meal for fourteen people in a business suit and four-inch heels, and quickly offered to help, but Esther declined, an approving look at her polite offer briefly crossing her face.

"Thank you for offering, Caroline, but I know that the rest of the family is eager to meet you."

Caroline nodded, trying not to wince as she realized that she was about to be introduced to Klaus's entire family in one go.

"Just take a deep breath, sweetheart," Klaus muttered in her ear as he steered her towards the archway leading to what was clearly about five conversations going on at once.

"Look, it's Nik's new lady friend," one of the boys said, standing up and giving her a wicked grin, reaching out his hand to shake hers.

"She's not new, Kol," Klaus said immediately. "We've been seeing each other for two and a half years."

"And yet you've never brought her 'round," Kol said, giving Caroline a wink and pulling back.

"I didn't want to subject her to you."

"Now, Nik, I can behave. Just you wait and see."

"Nik," the youngest boy, who must be Henrik, said, walking over with a bright smile on his face. "How are you?"

Klaus pulled his hand from her waist to give Henrik a one-armed hug. "Doing fine, mate. You? How's everything?"

Caroline tried not to look surprised at Klaus's affectionate treatment of Henrik, a sharp contrast to the way he deflected Kol's greeting (and his interactions with pretty much everyone else that she'd ever seen him meet).

"Good! I'm applying for uni, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions," Henrik said excitedly before turning to Caroline. "Hi. Caroline, right?"

"Right," she said, shaking Henrik's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Henrik said. "Nik talks about you all the time."

"Good things, I hope?" Caroline said teasingly, glancing at Klaus, who wrapped his arm around her waist again, pulling her against him.

"Of course, sweetheart. I don't think I could ever find a bad thing to say about you."

"That's a lie, but okay," she said, and he grinned, kissing her temple, his stubble brushing against her ear.

"You're sickening," the blonde girl on the couch said, her lip curled.

"Now, Bekah," Klaus said warningly, and his sister just shrugged, looking back down at her phone.

"It's nice to meet you, Rebekah," Caroline said politely.

"Pleasure," Rebekah said coldly, the same derisive expression Esther had worn painted on her face.

"Where's your friend?" Klaus asked.

"He's with Elijah in the back room talking about craft beer or something. I didn't catch much of the conversation, and to be quite honest I don't want to know."

"Did I hear Nik?" she heard another woman, probably Freya, call from the other room as she walked in. "Hey, you!"

Klaus grimaced as Freya walked over, pulling Klaus into an as enthusiastic hug as she could with Caroline curled against him, which he didn't return, glowering in the general direction of the wall over Freya's shoulder. "Hello, sister."

"You cut your hair," she said, pulling back. "Good. I hated it long, no offense."

"None taken," Klaus said, his voice showing he was anything but happy with Freya's fussing.

She turned to Caroline, smiling brightly. "You're Caroline, right? Was the haircut your doing? If so, thank you for your service to the world."

Caroline tried to keep her face straight as she nodded. "Oh, totally. His jeans actually fit now, too."

"Oh my gosh, you're a saint," Freya said, and Caroline wasn't sure whether she was joking or not.

She heard Klaus growl softly next to her, and she just looked up to smile at him innocently.

"I'm going to get a drink, sweetheart," Klaus interrupted before Freya could continue her criticism on Klaus's wardrobe choices. "Do you want anything?"

"Just water, please," Caroline said, kissing him quickly on the cheek and smirking at the stunned expression that flashed across his face before he managed to straighten it.

"All right."

"Do you want to sit down?" Freya asked, gesturing to the couches, and Caroline nodded. "Sure. Thanks."

She heard something vibrate and Freya swore, pulling out her phone, grimacing when she saw the caller. "Sorry, I have to take this, but I can't wait to talk to you."

"Sure," Caroline said slowly as Freya got up, the phone held to her ear as she moved out of the room.

Kol and Henrik were playing video games that involved a lot of laser sounds on the other side of the room, and Caroline was about to pull out her phone when she heard Rebekah speak. "Considering the way he talks about you, I really thought you'd be prettier."

Rebekah had her chin propped on her hand, looking at Caroline intently, a completely unconvincing expression of wide-eyed innocence painted across her face.

"Really? What does he say?" she asked, forcing a smile and tilting her head to the side, taking a deep breath and wondering how bitchy she could get away with being.

She watched Klaus approached Rebekah from behind, carrying two drinks, though his sister didn't appear to notice that he was there (especially considering the content of her next statement).

"Well, he's only brought you up when he's forced to, and when he does all he can talk about is how pretty you are, so I just assumed that he was seeing you because you're a pretty face that spread your legs-"

"Rebekah," Klaus interrupted, his voice a deadly calm that Caroline associated with the one and only time she'd ever tried to organize his art supplies. "I never want to hear you speak to Caroline that way again."

"Then you shouldn't listen," Rebekah said, twisting to face him with a flip of her hair, not missing a beat.

Klaus moved to sit beside Caroline, handing her the glass of water, and she took a sip. "Thanks, honey."

"This is nauseating," Rebekah said, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at Caroline. "I'm going to talk to Mum in the kitchen."

"Bye, Felicia," Caroline muttered as Rebekah made her dramatic exit, taking a sip of water, and Klaus nearly snorted his tea out of his nose.

 **XXX**

"We're just friends," Caroline said, holding her phone to her ear as she curled in the bed.

It was their first night together, and Caroline was still reeling from the kiss he'd given her before dinner (and from how absolutely shitty half his family was). It was around ten o'clock, and Klaus had been herded into the sitting room of the big cabin with the rest of his siblings to catch up. She'd begged off, citing being tired from flying, and Klaus had immediately backed her up, giving her a kiss on the cheek and saying he'd be up soon.

She'd had to fight down a blush, but she didn't think anyone had noticed while they were distracted by Esther scolding Kol for wolf-whistling at Klaus's comment.

"He kissed you. You're sleeping in the same bed," Bonnie said.

"Yeah. As friends."

"You are literally dating."

"Yeah. We're dating as friends."

"Are you going to get engaged as friends too?"

"What? No."

"Sure, Jan," Bonnie said, and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"I know that you, Enzo, and Stefan think there's a massive amount of sexual tension between me and Klaus, but I'm just doing him a favor."

"Okay, well it's midnight here and I have work tomorrow, but call me with updates," Bonnie said.

"Will do."

Caroline hung up and set her phone on the side table, turning off the lamp and curling on her side facing the door, pulling the covers around her. She was about to drift off when the bedroom door creaked open and Klaus came in.

"Hey," she said softly, sitting up, and Klaus turned on the light switch by the door.

"Hello, love."

"Do you think they bought it?"

"Of course. Your superb acting skills showed through, sweetheart. That minor in theatre was well worth the hours of running lines with you."

"Hey, I paid you in tea. You don't get to complain."

He smiled, tugging off his shirt, and she quickly looked away, resisting the urge to take a peek as he stripped down to his boxers. "You all right?" he asked, turning off the light before his side of the bed dipped as he got in.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

"I'm sorry about Bekah," he said, and he did sound like he meant it.

"It's fine. I'm just going to take every opportunity to rub our fake relationship in her face, if that's okay with you."

"Of course," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice, though she didn't dare let herself get her hopes up that maybe- _maybe-_ his feelings for her weren't as fake as he was pretending.

There was only a few inches of space between them, and Caroline let her breathing calm before she drifted off.

 **XXX**

Klaus was very aware of the blonde hair currently spread over his face, some of it in his mouth, and he tried not to sneeze or wake Caroline up as he shifted underneath her, gently brushing her hair away from his face.

She snuggled against his shoulder as he tried to move, shifting so that she was further on top of him, and he tried not to groan as her thigh brushed along the bulge in his sweatpants. "Sweetheart, I need to get up," he said quietly, stroking her hair in the hopes that she'd wriggle away before she felt him pressed against her leg.

"No," she muttered, her voice so tired that he wouldn't be surprised if she was talking in her sleep, burying her face in his shoulder. "You're warm."

"Caroline..."

He felt the brush of her eyelashes against his skin as she opened her eyes before she scrambled away, her face bright red. "Sorry," she said, and he grinned.

"Not a problem, sweetheart. It's good that you're getting into character so naturally," he said teasingly, noticing the look of disappointment she wore for only a moment before she threw his pillow at him and curled up again, her face buried back in hers.

An hour later, she'd been coaxed out of bed and into the shower, and he was downstairs making her coffee. Rebekah was sitting at the kitchen table, her boyfriend (Matt, he'd learned) eating cereal. He honestly seemed pleasant enough, and Klaus wasn't all that fussed about it since Rebekah seemed happy, and he knew that if he at least pretended to be all right with her boyfriend, she'd make more of an effort with Caroline.

Not that it mattered, since he was aware that Caroline would eat her alive if Rebekah got too antagonistic.

Caroline emerged from their room, her hair damp and in a ponytail, tank top and denim shorts hugging her body in a way that made him want _her_ for breakfast rather than the bagel that popped out of the toaster.

She took one half of it, ignoring his huff of annoyance and kissing him chastely before grabbing the butter dish and spreading some over her bagel. "Good morning, honey," she said, smirking at Rebekah's spluttering of her tea from the table, and Klaus fought down a groan.

So it began.

"Morning."

"What's the plan for today?" she asked, taking a bite of her bagel.

"We were going to go outside and play some football if you'd like to come."

"I won't play, but I'll watch," she offered.

"All right. I doubt Freya or Elijah will play, and my parents are off in town doing lord knows what with their golden son and only grandchild, but everyone else seems to be in as of last night."

The coffeemaker stopped, and Klaus pulled it out, pouring her a cup and sliding over the sweetener and creamer that she favored, and she gave him a small smile as she made her coffee.

"We'll meet you two there, shall we?" Rebekah said, giving Matt a 'let's go' look, and Klaus nodded before turning to Caroline, who was draining the last of her coffee.

"Okay, let's go," she said, and he followed her to the door, his fingers tangling with hers without even thinking about it.

 **XXX**

"Are you sure you don't want to play, sweetheart?" Klaus asked between gulps of water.

The late morning sun was beating down on them, and Caroline was pulled out of her inspection of Klaus's shirtless (sweaty) chest to answer his question. "I'm okay. Freya and I are having fun."

Klaus's older sister was funny and easygoing, unlike Rebekah, and they'd spent the last few hours talking about music and movies while everyone else played soccer (football, whatever).

"I think that you're afraid you'll lose," Klaus said with a teasing grin, and she glared at him, knowing that he knew she was too competitive to turn down such a blatant challenge.

"Seriously?"

He just grinned at her, and she got up, stretching, arching her back so that her breasts were emphasized, her tank top clinging to her torso. Klaus watched, his eyes glued to her, and she knew that he'd explain it away as just staying in character, but there was definitely more to it.

And she didn't plan on fighting fair.

"Okay, you're going down, Mikaelson."

She'd been watching, and she knew the game was surprisingly physical, none of the siblings (or Matt) giving any thought to possible injuries (though she doubted that they'd do anything too bad). The other siblings were taking a break as Caroline and Klaus faced off, Caroline quickly stealing the ball and running towards the goal, Klaus intercepting her and going the opposite direction. Caroline laughed and ran after him, shoving him lightly to kick the ball back the way she wanted it to go, and Klaus let out a breath of surprise when she did so, his eyes narrowing as they both ran towards the ball, Caroline pushing him again, though he managed to keep his balance.

He pushed her lightly in the shoulder, careful not to unbalance her too much, but she wasn't so lucky the second time, falling down onto a soft patch of grass. Klaus froze at her shout of surprise, coming over hand holding out his hand to help her up.

Instead, she pulled him down with her onto the grass, rolling on top of him to keep him down, not knowing when it had turned into a wrestling match, but not minding much.

He rolled them over, pinning her arms above her head, and she suddenly realized how close they were, how their noses were almost touching. He had a few blades of grass sticking to his cheeks, his bare chest pressing against her torso.

"I win," he said quietly, and she was brought back to the situation at hand, her heart pounding, her breathing labored.

"Yeah?" she asked, her voice breathless.

He nodded, loosening his grip, and she took advantage, gripping his waist with her knees for leverage and rolling them over to straddle him, bending down, her hair a curtain around their faces.

He was looking up at her, his eyes affectionate, a smirk pulling at his mouth. One hand settled on the small of her back, the other on her hip.

The tension was palpable, their shared frustration at the dance around each other they'd been doing for years thick in the air, and Caroline bent down, her nose touching his.

"Actually, I think I win."

* * *

Thanks for reading! I hope you like it :D Let me know what you thought!  
Hugs!  
-Angie


	14. Mint Chip

Summary: Klaus wants to keep his and Caroline's relationship a secret for her safety, and she walks away. He runs into her at the drugstore later, and he attempts to make amends.

* * *

"I just can't be your dirty little secret, Klaus."

"You're not my dirty secret, sweetheart. It's just not safe."

"Seriously? It's not safe?"

"I have enemies, and-"

"Enemies," she repeated, a bitter laugh falling from her lips, nails against a chalkboard to her own ears. "And what are you going to do, exactly? Kill 90% of the supernatural population and then ride off with me into the sunset?"

"Caroline..."

"It's never going to be completely safe for me to be with you, Klaus, and we can't sneak around forever. I refuse to be in a relationship with you when you're not even willing to acknowledge my existence."

"Caroline, you know how much I care for you."

Caroline scoffed, turning away from him to hide the tears welling in her eyes. "Do I? Do I really? Because right now, all I know is that you're worried it'll hurt your image. You're worried that it'll make you look weak, and that people will exploit your weakness."

"That's not true," he said, reaching for her arm, but she moved quickly, pulling on her clothes and grabbing her purse.

"I can't deal with this right now. I'm not going to wait around for you to decide that I'm worth the hit to your big bad image. I'm worth more than that."

She swallowed, not looking back to see his face as she walked away, because she knew she'd get sucked back in.

She sniffled as she closed the bedroom door behind her, wrapping her arms around herself and speeding back to her apartment. The first thing she saw was the vase that Klaus gave her, which he sent flowers for every week (anonymously, of course).

She threw it at the wall, watched with no small amount of satisfaction as it burst into small shards, and felt her heart sink as the pieces scattered on the floor.

Klaus and his fucking bullshit excuses could take a hike, she decided, even as she burst into tears, punching a hole in the wall and stalking off to change into her pajamas and falling into bed.

 **XXX**

Klaus normally was not a fan of regret or guilt (and he still wasn't), but he'd been tossing and turning all night, trying to pretend that those weren't the feelings that were clawing at his skin.

Caroline had been in his bed just days before. He could still detect her scent on the pillow, could still smell the shampoo she used, and the small dots of ice cream that had fallen in the sheets when he pushed the bowl onto the side table to suck the sweetness from her lips.

He just wanted to taste her again.

He swore as he got out of bed, sliding on jeans and a henley and grabbing his house keys, not bothering with the car and speeding to the nearby drugstore, for some reason needing to buy a bottle of the shampoo she used to remember the way she smelled, the ice cream she favored in late nights or very early mornings, the terrible cereal she kept in the back of his cabinet for days when she didn't leave in the middle of the night, when he woke to find her draped across him, her blonde curls tousled, lips slightly parted as she slept.

He grabbed a basket, easily finding her shampoo and the cereal before wandering to the ice cream aisle to pick up the specific brand of chocolate ice cream that she ate, stopping when he saw a very familiar figure staring intently at the flavors available.

Her eyes were red as though she'd been crying recently enough that her powers hadn't healed the puffiness of her skin, and she was wrapped in the sweater she'd 'borrowed' from him weeks ago, rolling her eyes as he made her promise not to wear it out for fear of someone figuring out that she was connected to him.

And now she was, either to remember his scent or to just to be contrary.

"Caroline," he said quietly, and she turned, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of his sweater and glaring at him.

"Aren't you afraid to talk to me in public?" she asked, her voice more tired than upset, and he winced.

She looked at the basket in his hand, her eyes narrowing. "Is that my shampoo and the cereal I keep in your cabinet? You know that restocking my favorite things in your house won't make me come back, right? I'm not a bear. I don't track the scent of Lucky Charms and fall into a trap."

He snorted, shaking his head. "It smells like you," he said simply, and she rolled her eyes, though he thought he saw a hint of a smile on her face as she turned back to the freezer, the arms of his sweater long enough to conceal her hands.

"I love you, Caroline," he said abruptly, and she stiffened, determinedly not meeting his gaze.

"I know that you're in love with me," she said quietly, and he felt his heart clench as he remembered the first time she'd said those words, the time that he thought he might have done something horrific enough to lose her forever.

And he knew that's what she was trying to say, knew that it was her way of reminding him that he had no excuses, that he was going to have to prove that he wanted her, and she wouldn't give him a gold star for meeting her lowest expectations.

"I want to host a ball to introduce you as my consort," he said quietly, and he'd never heard her laugh so derisively.

"You think that'll make it up to me? A party to introduce me as your lesser half that tags along wearing a tiara?"

"You know that you're much more than that to me," he said, feeling anger tug at him.

He was essentially shouting from the rooftops that he loved her. What more did she want from him, exactly?

She seemed to know what he was thinking though (as she somehow always did), and she pulled out a carton of ice cream from the freezer, plopping it in her basket before turning to look at him. "I want you to stop being an overprotective asshole," she said simply. "No stalking my phone or tracking me. You can give me a bodyguard as long as they don't bother me and only intervene when it's a proven threat. You will respect my choices and understand that you have literally no say in my life unless it's a decision that affects both of us. Got it?"

"Yes, sweetheart," he said immediately, and she smiled slightly.

"And a ball's fine as long as I get to organize it."

"Agreed."

"And that painting you have over the fireplace is hideous and we're getting a different one."

"Done."

"And I love you too," she said, her voice quivering at the end despite her determined expression, her fists clenched so hard around the container of ice cream that it exploded, covering her in giant globs of Mint Chip.

He tried valiantly to fight down a smile as she glared resolutely up at him, gritting her teeth, the lurid green drips of ice cream clinging to her nose and cheeks.

"Don't you fucking dare laugh," she grits out as Klaus attempted to keep his face straight.

He cleared his throat, looking awkwardly at the ceiling as he took a calming breath.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Please let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie


	15. Birthday Visits

I wrote this awhile ago but forgot to post it (oops!).

Summary: Growing up, Hope notices that Klaus disappears on one day every year. As a teenager, she follows him and discovers he's visiting Caroline on her birthday.

* * *

There were many words that Hope Mikaelson would use to describe herself, but 'unobservant' wasn't one of them.

She'd been alive for eighteen years, and in the last nine, she'd noticed that her father disappeared for one day every October. It wouldn't have been as easy to spot if he wasn't within a ten minute run every other second of her life, but when she'd been twelve she'd tried to find him for something and had been informed in clipped tones by her nanny (Camille preferred 'Aunt Cami', but that bitch made disgusting sex eyes at her father too much to be considered 'Aunt' anything) that he was 'out'.

She'd called him and he'd answered, telling her to ask someone else for whatever she needed and promptly hung up again.

So, it was October 10th, and she was ready to see why her father disappeared every year. She'd tried asking the year before and he'd made up a ridiculous excuse (art exhibition in a small city in Canada, which was easily google-able to find nothing of the sort).

She tailed him to the airport, wearing some hideous cheap perfume she found to mask her scent, and got on the plane behind him, settling in an aisle seat in coach.

She thought that he'd noticed her once when he stiffened, frowning in her general direction, but she'd ducked her head and he appeared confused for a moment before he turned back to his sketchbook.

When she got off the plane, she managed to tail him to the rental car place, flashing after his car as he drove and keeping a far enough distance away that she doubted her father would notice. He pulled over in front of a nice house in a suburban neighborhood and got out, locking the car and knocking on the door.

The woman who opened it was beautiful, though the effect was marred slightly by the huge scowl she wore when she found who was on her doorstep. Hope recognized her from a few sketchbooks her father thought he'd hid well and a painting he'd hung in his study when she was young that Camille had 'accidentally' spilled coffee on. Hope had always wondered who she was, and had mentally referred to her as Random Sketch Girl.

"Oh, it's you."

Hope frowned, wondering why her father hadn't ripped the woman's heart out (no one talked back to him and lived, except her, but she just lost internet privileges and wasn't allowed to go out at night).

"Hello, sweetheart."

Sweetheart. She'd never heard him call anyone that. Creepy, but whatever.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked, leaning against the doorway, a small smirk curling around his mouth.

"It's not very polite to just turn up out of nowhere, Klaus."

"I texted you," he said, and the woman sighed.

"Yeah, I saw. it's also not polite to turn up with people I don't know and expect them allowed in. Where's the kid?"

Hope stiffened, her eyes widening.

"Hope, love," he called, turning to her with the sort of smile that meant 'did you honestly think you were fooling me' which she associated with sneaking out at night and taking the nice car when she wasn't supposed to. "Come here."

Deciding that it was pointless to pretend that she wasn't there, she stalked over, her arms crossed over her chest, her brown hair blowing slightly in the wind.

"Hope, this is Caroline. She's...a friend," he introduced, and Hope fought a gag at the way her father was looking at Caroline.

He clearly meant 'friend' the way the inconveniently-resurrected Katerina Petrova was a 'friend' to her Uncle Elijah.

"It's nice to meet you," Caroline said, and Hope couldn't detect any disingenuity, though the blonde did look slightly annoyed at Klaus's behavior.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, may we come in?"

"Sure," Caroline said, backing up to let them in. "I was just getting ready to order in. I assume you're inviting yourselves over for dinner?"

"If that's all right with you, sweetheart."

"Well, it's not, but I know better than to think you'll leave. We're having pizza."

"Your birthday, your rules," Klaus said with a nod, and everything fell into place.

"This is why you mysteriously disappear every year?" she demanded. "To see Random Sketch Girl for her birthday?"

"Random Sketch Girl?" Caroline asked, her eyebrows raising, though she was clearly fighting down a smile. "Do you seriously still draw me? Do you know how creepy that is?"

"Yes to both questions," Klaus said, a dimpled grin on his face. "And yes, this is where I go. I'm surprised you've noticed."

"No offense, Dad, but you're not exactly a superspy."

"I evaded Mikael for over a millenia," Klaus said grumpily.

"Old age making you less capable?" Caroline asked with a wicked grin, and Hope found that the woman was growing on her.

"If anything it's just made me more experienced," Klaus said, clearly without thinking about it before he froze and looked at Hope, whose face had involuntarily twisted into a disgusted frown.

"Ew."

"I've been saying that for years," Caroline muttered, and Klaus just laughed.

"Let's not pretend you're not even a little interested, Caroline. I seem to remember clearing that up in the woods almost two decades ago."

"Well, you clearly forgot that you were supposed to leave me alone afterwards."

"No, I was supposed to leave Mystic Falls, which is an entirely different promise," he said.

"Whatever."

"And if you didn't want me here, you wouldn't have let me in," he said, and Hope had never seen her father look so vulnerable.

"That's true, but I'm not going to fall into your arms and declare my undying love for you because you come see me on my birthday and give me presents," Caroline said, now rifling through a drawer and pulling out a paper take-out menu. "Preferences for toppings? I'm getting a pepperoni and sausage with green onions and mushrooms, but you can get something for yourselves."

"Whatever you want, sweetheart."

"Are you always this gross with her, Dad?" Hope asked, and Caroline laughed.

"He used to be much worse. Trust me..."

"What do you mean?"

Caroline smirked and shot Klaus a teasing look before she adopted what must have been the worst British accent Hope had ever heard.

"In a year, or maybe a century, you'll turn up at my door and I'll show you everything the world has to offer," she drawled, and Hope half expected Klaus to defend himself, but her father just sat there staring at her.

"My offer is still open, love."

"No. We've talked about this, Klaus. You have your life, and I have mine."

"And your life doesn't involve me," he said quietly, and Hope had the feeling that he was repeating words back to her that she'd said.

"Look, I don't want to have this conversation right now," Caroline said, shooting a significant look at Hope, who felt slightly offended.

"I can leave if you want to talk or whatever."

"It's fine," Caroline said at the same time as her father said he'd see her later, and Caroline whirled to glare at him.

"Seriously?"

Hope left without waiting for her father to explain himself, walking a few blocks before pulling out her phone, which she'd put on silent and had fourteen missed calls and thirteen voicemails. She dialed her Aunt Rebekah.

"Hope? Where are you?" Rebekah asked the second she picked up.

"I'm with Dad."

Rebekah was silent for a moment. "With Caroline, then?"

"Does everyone know but me?" Hope asked, slightly exasperated.

Rebekah snorted. "Well, it's not as though he's actually told us, but it's not exactly hard to figure it out."

"Do you know her?"

"Yes. She's an obnoxious, uptight, perfectionist. They're perfect for each other."

"She seems nice," Hope said, not knowing why she was getting so defensive about a woman she barely knew, and Rebekah hummed in agreement.

"Well, Nik certainly thinks so. A word of advice, I'd find something to do for the next few hours in town."

"Ew."

"Agreed," Rebekah said, though Hope heard the hint of a smile in her aunt's voice.

* * *

Let me know what you thought :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie


	16. Tumblr Mini-Drabbles I

After the disappointing episode today (7x21?) (the one before the finale of season seven) I asked people to send in SFW fluff prompts, so these are 10 minute minidrabbles from those prompts. Because they're minidrabbles, a lot of them aren't very plotty, and some of them have minimal caroline because i'm in the habit of setting up a story.

All of these are SFW I promise. I hope you like them.

* * *

Caroline meets the family for the 'first' time when her and Klaus are in a relationship.

* * *

Caroline took a few calming breaths as Klaus pulled in front of his parents house. She was meeting them for the first time, and she was absolutely terrified, no matter how many times Klaus insisted they'd like her.

When she climbed out, he slid his arm around her waist, his palm pressed against the small of her back. "They're going to love you, sweetheart."

She didn't bother arguing, just letting him walk her up the path to the door. He rang the bell, and the door was opened moments later by a curly haired brunette.

"Klaus," she greeted.

"Katerina. This is Caroline," he said, and the other girl gave her what she recognized as the patented fake head cheerleader smile.

"It's so nice to meet you," Katerina said, holding out a manicured hand for her to shake.

"Might I ask why you're greeting guests at the door rather than an actual member of the family?"

"Klaus," Caroline scolded without thinking about it, the habit of objecting to his snide comments now ingrained after six months of dating.

"Sorry, love," he muttered, and Katerina raised her eyebrows.

"Wow. You like this one."

"My name is Caroline," she corrected with a smile just as fake as the other girl's nose.

"Niklaus," a woman called, walking up to them and pulling him into a hug.

"Hello mother," he said, awkwardly patting her on the back before disentangling himself. "This is Caroline."

"Lovely to meet you, dear," Esther said with a smile. "I've heard so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Mikaelson."

"May I get a drink or something to tide you over while dinner's cooking?"

"No, thank you."

"Nik, Caroline," Kol called from the other side of the room, and Caroline waved, relieved that the only family member she knew was there.

"Hey, Kol."

"I'd apologize for Katerina's attitude, but unfortunately she's Satan, and all of us have learned that it's to be expected."

* * *

Caroline works at a grocery store and asks if Klaus needs anything, and a bad pick-up line is his answer.

* * *

"Are you finding everything okay?"

Klaus looked up to see a pretty blonde with an overenthusiastic smile standing next to him, and he gave her a dimpled smile.

"I'm actually looking for your number, love."

Her pleasant smile froze in place, and he could see the annoyance in her eyes. "Well, unfortunately we don't sell that here. Let me know if you have any other questions."

Well, how could he resist a challenge like that?

"What's your favorite color?"

The look she gave him was a cross between disbelieving and exasperated. "We don't sell that either."

He followed her as she walked towards the frozen goods. "Do you like any television shows?"

"This is a grocery store, Sir. We don't sell those."

"As much as I like it when you call me Sir, I'd love for you to call me Klaus."

She just glared at him, and he grinned. "Favorite food?"

"Pasta. Aisle three."

"I know a good Italian place a few blocks away."

"Sorry, I'm not free."

"I didn't even tell you the day."

"I'm never free."

"Oh, but sweetheart-"

"Don't call me 'sweetheart'."

"All right, _Caroline_ , what do I have to do to earn a date?"

He could tell that she dearly wanted him to leave her alone, and he felt slightly bad, but it was just too much fun to annoy her...

"I think you've blown it at this point, buddy."

"How can I acquit myself?"

"You can't."

"There must be some way."

"Nope."

"I thought the customer was always right?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll come back tomorrow."

"It's a national holiday. We're not open."

"I'll come back the next day."

"I don't work then."

"The next?"

"I don't work then either."

"When do you work?"

"This is my last day, actually."

 _ **Next Monday..**_.

"Caroline?" Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow.

The manager told him that they had a new employee starting that day, but he hadn't known their name, and judging by Caroline's angry shriek, she hadn't either.

Well, this was going to be fun...

* * *

Caroline's getting her art degree and Klaus is surprised when she says drawing nude models isn't sexy.

* * *

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Caroline asked, looking up from her spaghetti to see Klaus flipping through her sketchbook.

"This."

Caroline fought down a smile when he turned the sketchbook around to reveal a sketch of a nude man. "That's a sketch."

"Yes, I can see that, sweetheart. I meant to ask why you had a sketch of another man in your sketchbook."

"We had models the other day. It's a pretty normal thing to have in art class, you know."

She looked back at her pasta so that she wouldn't start laughing at the face Klaus was wearing, which could only be described as a pout.

"You didn't tell me you were working with nude models."

"What's your objection, exactly? It's not like it's a sexy activity. It's hard to get all hot and bothered when you're trying to replicate the exact curve of some guys di-"

"I assure you that drawing someone can be incredibly erotic, if done correctly," he interrupted. "I'm sure you know that, considering how many times you've posed for me."

"Yeah, now that I've done the drawing I don't understand how that could be sexy."

"I could draw you in my sleep, sweetheart. I just like the way you look when you're all spread out and waiting for me to finish."

She snorted. "Yeah, okay."

"I'll show you."

"Show me how?"

"I'll be your model."

"I can't draw you! What if the portrait comes out terrible and you hate me forever?"

"We do have eternity to get it right, sweetheart..."

To be honest, not much sketching got done, but Caroline didn't really end up caring.

* * *

Caroline, Klaus, and Hope being a supernatural family.

* * *

"Hope, no!"

"Hope yes," Hope responded petulantly, her face screwed up in a pout as Caroline took away the lego she'd been about to stick in her mouth.

"No. Eating toys is bad for you," Caroline said, picking her up and balancing the toddler on her hip as she walked back to the kitchen, wary of using her vampire speed with such a small body. "How about you have some fish sticks or something?"

"Ew."

Caroline nearly growled in annoyance, but managed to restrain herself, setting Hope down in her highchair and opening the freezer to find that there were no fishsticks, and that the only thing in there was ice cream (and dessert for lunch was not a thing, as far as she was concerned). Opening the refrigerator yielded the same result. The had five different kinds of mustard, some lemons, and a bag of celery.

Klaus had clearly forgotten to order someone to go shopping, and she fired off a quick text to a hybrid before turning back to Hope. "Let's go for a walk and get lunch."

She picked up Hope again, who squirmed in her arms, and grabbed her purse. She opened the front door and was surprised to see Klaus just outside with his keys out. "Hello, sweetheart."

"Hey," she said, immediately pushing Hope into his arms. "She's hungry."

Klaus, who after a year still hadn't managed to touch the baby without looking genuinely mystified by her existence, frowned. "Did you try feeding her?"

"We don't have anything in the fridge," she said, trying desperately not to roll her eyes.

Did she try feeding her. Seriously?

"I can call for takeaway," he suggested, and Hope squirmed in his arms.

"Klaus down."

Caroline snickered. Klaus had adamantly refused to let Hope call him any variation of "father" or "dad", and at some point people had stopped trying to get him to. This resulted in a rather memorable incident the week before where Hope had been chattering about a kid in her pre-school class and called his father 'Jimmy's Klaus'.

Caroline had snorted water out of her nose at the time, and still couldn't keep a straight face whenever she was reminded of it. Klaus gave her an exasperated look when she giggled. "Honestly, love, it's really not that funny."

"It's hilarious."

* * *

Kol finds one of Klaus' sketchbooks full of Caroline.

* * *

"Nik, guess what?"

"What Kol?" Klaus asked tiredly, looking up from his history textbook.

"I found something interesting."

Klaus tensed, immediately on alert. "What did you find?"

 _Please be something embarrassing from another sibling that wasn't him._

"I found a sketchbook."

 _Fuck._

"Did you?"

"Yes. I had no idea that Caroline Forbes was so interesting, but apparently..."

"Kol," Klaus said dangerously, putting down his textbook and standing to glare at his brother. "Give it back."

"I don't think I will, actually. I think she deserves to know."

Klaus winced. "I don't think you need to tell her, Kol."

"But you've clearly been spying on her or something. There's no way that this could be that accurate if you haven't," Kol said, opening the sketchbook and turning the pages until he found what he was looking for, and Klaus saw red when Kol showed him the particular picture he'd been talking about.

"I haven't been spying," he gritted out. "Give it here."

"No."

"Kol..."

Kol grinned and pulled out his phone, and Klaus grabbed the sketchbook out of Kol's hand as he dialed Caroline.

"Hello, Caroline," he said cheerily, and Klaus rolled his eyes, sitting down on the couch to wait for the inevitable. "Yes...Yes, I'm fine, darling. I just had a question. Did you know that Nik has an entire sketchbook full of drawings of you?"

Caroline said something on the other side of the line that made Kol's mouth drop open. "You _what_?"

Klaus stifled a grin as he heard the annoyance in Caroline's voice, though he couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"That's disgusting," Kol said. "I didn't need to know that."

Klaus snickered when Kol hung up in the middle of Caroline's sentence. "Find out what you wanted to, mate?"

"I didn't want to know any of it, and I think I'm going to try to forget everything she just told me about you and how you got her to pose for that picture."

"Fine by me," Klaus said, unable to fight off his smirk, though it slid off of his face when he received an instant message from Caroline.

[Caroline]: I can't believe you let Kol find your sketchbook

[Caroline]: You promised me those pictures would be private!

[Caroline]: And don't make some snarky comment about how they're about something private

[Caroline]: I might kill you

[Klaus]: Sorry love, he must have gone through my things

[Klaus]: I'll make it up to you

[Caroline]: You'd better.

[Klaus]: Anything you want

Caroline has sent you a file

[Caroline]: There's an apology present wishlist.

[Caroline]: It also functions for birthdays, anniversaries, and other major holidays.

[Caroline]: Just in case you forgot, our anniversary is next Monday.

[Klaus]: I didn't forget.

[Caroline]: Well, I guess my present won't be from that list then.

[Caroline]: If you're white-lying, good luck shopping for me :))))

* * *

Zookeeper Klaus with penguins and Caroline as a teacher on a field trip.

* * *

"Caroline!"

Caroline turned to Katherine, who was possibly the most whiny seven year old she'd ever met in her five years of teaching, and smiled. "Yeah?"

"I want to see the polar bears."

"We'll see the polar bears later. Right now we're seeing the penguins," Caroline said patiently, and Katherine pouted.

"But I want to see the polar bears."

"We'll see them later," Caroline repeated. "Just be patient."

"But I want to see them now."

"Katherine, do you want to chill for a minute?"

They weren't allowed to call time-outs "time outs" anymore (apparently it had a negative connotation), but all the kids knew what she meant.

"No, I'm fine."

"Great! Let's go learn about the penguins, then," Caroline said, gesturing for Katherine to rejoin the group.

She took a deep breath when Katherine nodded and turned to face the zookeeper who had just started to talk, and Caroline looked as well.

Just from his face, she could tell that he also would rather be doing anything else than being with twenty hungry seven-year-olds.

Don't get her wrong, she loved teaching, but it had just been a long day.

She vaguely registered that he had an accent, and she couldn't help but check out his rather nicely-sculpted forearms and his dimples when he smiled, and she realized that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye as well, his gaze appreciative.

In a moment of impulsiveness, she slipped him her number when she walked by, and that night she decided that she'd found a better stress reliever than red wine and chocolate...

* * *

Caroline wants to stay at a haunted hotel and Klaus isn't scared. Really, he's not.

* * *

"It'll be really fun," Caroline said cajolingly, squeezing his hand.

"I don't understand what's so fun about it," Klaus said grumpily. "It's just a hotel."

"A _haunted_ hotel," Caroline said, and Klaus snorted.

"Paying money to stay in a creaky old building that supposedly contains non-existent supernatural beings isn't my idea of fun, sweetheart."

"I think you're scared."

"Ghosts aren't real, sweetheart," he said, and she grinned.

"Well, then you'll have no problem staying there with me. Come on, it'll be fun. You can hold me while I'm scared and everything."

"I'd get to hold you anyway."

"Oh, someone's confident."

"I don't think you could go more than a day without touching me, sweetheart."

"I had that girls' trip with Kat and Bonnie for a week."

"Yes, and I do recall having a pleasurable phone call most nights."

"Oh shush."

"I take it as a compliment."

She just huffed, practically dragging him through the front doors of the building and walking up to the front desk. "Hi, we have reservations for Mikaelson."

"Just a minute," the woman said, her fingers clicking on a keyboard as she pulled it up. "Here's your key. You're in room five."

Caroline took the old-fashioned brass key from her and Klaus picked up their suitcase (having managed to convince Caroline to pack light, since she wasn't going to be wearing clothes all that often anyway if he had anything to say about it).

"This is so cool," she said when Klaus had shut the door to their room behind him, setting the suitcase on the floor. "Isn't this cool?"

He looked around at the peeling wallpaper and old-fashioned bed and armoire and fought not to scowl. "I'm sure it'll be lovely."

She gave him a huge smile and opened the doors to the armoire to reveal a television and a set of DVDs containing horror movies. She flipped through them as he laid down on the bed. "What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care, sweetheart. Whatever you want."

"Okay," she said cheerfully, putting one of the movies in and crawling into the bed next to him, snuggling into his side as the movie started.

She buried her face in his shoulder for the especially gruesome parts, but generally seemed content to sit and watch people get ripped apart.

Klaus held Caroline tightly that night when the windows creaked and there was a mysterious set of footsteps in the hallways. It wasn't that he was scared, he just didn't want Caroline to be nervous as she slept comfortably against him, completely oblivious to the world around her.

* * *

Klaus has to pick up Caroline from the police station when she got drunk.

* * *

"I swear to god, this wasn't my fault," Caroline slurred into the phone, and she heard Klaus snort on the other end. "It was all Kat."

"I have no doubt of that, sweetheart. Just tell me where you are."

"The police station."

"Which police station?"

"I don't know," she said. "It's somewhere."

"Hand the phone to the policeman, sweetheart."

She thrusted the receiver at the officer in front of her. "He wants to talk to you," she said.

The policeman took the phone and rattled off the address to Klaus before handing the phone back.

"I'll be there in a few minutes, all right?"

"Mmkay," she said, suddenly feeling very tired. "Love you."

"I love you too," he said after a few seconds of silence before the line went dead, and she handed the phone back to the policeman, who set it back in its cradle. "Where's Kat?"

"Your friend is in the other room making her phone call."

"Will she come back?"

"Yes," the policeman said dryly. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Okay. I wanna go home. I don't feel good."

"Your boyfriend will be here in a few minutes."

"He's not my boyfriend," Caroline slurred. "We broke up."

"Okay then," the policeman said, clearly wanting to drop the subject, but Caroline pressed on.

"Like, he was super in love with me, and I was in love with him, but I was like no, because my friends gave me a friendtervention because they apparently hated him. But like the heart wants what it wants, you know? And he makes me happy."

"Right."

"And I never told him I loved him," Caroline sniffled before bursting into tears. "I love him so much but I never told him because I was scared. He probably hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," the policeman said awkwardly.

He was obviously incredibly uncomfortable, but in her intoxicated state, Caroline didn't particularly care.

"No, he hates me," Caroline said through her tears. "He'll never speak to me again."

"You realize that you just called him, right?"

"Yeah, but when I get home he'll never speak to me again," Caroline insisted. "I just want to pretend everything never happened. I love him so much."

"Yeah, I got that," the policeman said, edging to the door. "I think I heard someone come in. I'll be right back."

Caroline sniffled, wiping her tears with her sleeve, and Klaus entered a few seconds later, snowflakes still sticking to his coat.

"Come on, sweetheart," he said softly, curling his hand around her arm and tugging her to him, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you home."

"I'm sorry," she said again, and she heard him huff out a breath.

"I know, love."

"I love you."

"I heard."

"I want to go home."

"That's where I'm taking you," he said patiently. "We're going to your apartment."

"No. I wanna go to yours."

He froze for just a moment before sighing. "All right, fine. But when you wake up tomorrow you can't blame me."

* * *

Klaroline travel the world.

* * *

"So, I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but normally when people travel, they get hotel rooms, not houses."

"Why get a hotel when you have a house?"

"Are you saying that you own all of these houses?" Caroline asked disbelievingly.

"In one way or another."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged, setting his suitcase on the giant bed and flopping down on it. The motion was oddly normal, and Caroline smiled slightly at the sight of it. "Some were friends' houses. Others I acquired over the years and rent them out with the caveat that I get to kick them out for a few nights whenever I come to stay. It brings in money and eliminates lots of issues with hotels, which all have cameras. This one I haven't set foot in for years."

"That's weirdly practical of you."

He shrugged, turning to face her. "It's easier to keep up with the times than you think, sweetheart."

She nodded. "So, what are we going to do first?"

"Whatever you want."

"No plans?" she asked, smiling.

"One or two, perhaps, but this is your trip. I'm just lucky enough that you're letting me tag along."

She scoffed. "We've been together for ten years. I think at this point it's not luck. I just like you."

"I'm lucky that you like me."

"You're a sap," she said, rolling her eyes. "Those lines don't work on me, Klaus."

"Considering that you're here, I think they've done a fine job."

"Please," she scoffed. "It was not the lines that got me."

"Ah, it was the dimples."

"Lots of people have dimples."

"Accent."

"Even more people have accents."

He laughed quietly, and she let out a soft squeak when he pulled her into bed with him, pinning her beneath his body with her arms above her head. "Perhaps I'm just likeable?"

"In your dreams."

"In your dreams, perhaps. I enjoy being feared by the general population."

"No. I like you just the way you are," she said, lifting her head to kiss him quickly. "You have to let me go, though. I want to see Paris."

"We can see Paris whenever you want. It'll still be here tomorrow."

"So will sex. Come on, I'm hungry."

* * *

Caroline turns up at Klaus' door

* * *

Caroline knocked on the door to the mansion, clutching the address that she'd scribbled from the envelope in Klaus's condolence letter about her mother in her hand. She heard footsteps and the door opened to reveal someone she didn't know, though they were clearly a vampire.

"Hi. I'm looking for Klaus Mikaelson," she said hesitantly.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked boredly, and Caroline's mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me?"

"An appointment. You know, like where you call and they find a time where he expects to meet with you."

"I know what an appointment is, I just don't know why I'd need one."

"Well, to see him you have to have an appointment."

"I'm sorry, do you know who I am?" Caroline asked, and the man raised his eyebrows.

"No? Am I supposed to?"

"I'm Caroline. Caroline Forbes."

"Right," he said, clearly unimpressed. "All right, well if you leave your number I can tell him you came by, or you can make an appointment."

"Why would anyone need an appointment with him? It's not like he does anything except be an evil overlord. Did he take up medicine in his spare time, or something?"

"To settle supernatural disputes. I'm sorry, did you have a reason for coming here, or...?"

"Is he here right now?"

"Yes. Of course. He's with someone, though."

"Okay. Great. Move."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let-"

She huffed and reached out, snapping his neck in a swift movement and stepping over him, her heels clicking on the floor.

"What an asshole," she muttered, stalking into the foyer.

She didn't hear any noise, so she walked to the first door she saw and pushed it open to reveal a sitting room. Sighing, she methodically opened every door on the first floor and finding nothing before walking up to the second. She realized that he couldn't hear anything when she caught the pungent smell of sage, and she followed it to a door at the end of the hallway.

Forgoing knocking, she pushed it open to find Klaus sitting in his office chair with his feet on the desk, his phone in his hand as he spoke into the receiver. He looked up, his eyes widening when he saw her, and he hung up with no explanation, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "Caroline," he greeted.

"Hey."

He was silent, just watching her, and she cleared her throat awkwardly, suddenly wondering whether she'd overstepped. "So, um...Here I am. At your metaphorical door."

"I can see that," he said, his lips twitching.

"Do you not want me here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Had she just been the recipient of a line he used on all the girls? Did she really think that he wouldn't move on? Wouldn't find someone better?

Before she could settle on that train of thought, his palm was cupping her cheek. He'd moved too fast for her to see, but then his other hand was on her hip, his lips on hers, and...

"Of course I want you here."

"Good. Me too."

* * *

Klaroline secret relationship.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Caroline hissed as she walked into her room, her eyes wide.

"Waiting for you."

"Well, obviously," she said, rolling her eyes and shedding her jacket, kicking off her shoes. "I meant why are you waiting for me? I was going to come over in an hour, remember?"

"I couldn't wait."

She rolled her eyes. "You're a thousand years old and you couldn't wait an hour?"

"Not for you."

She scoffed, which turned into a shriek of surprise when he pulled her on the bed on top of him. "Klaus!"

"What?" he asked, his facial expression trying for innocent (and failing).

"Never mind," she mumbled, bending down to kiss him. His tongue slid against hers, his hand hot against her lower back, and it was only once she was half-naked and fumbling with his pants when she heard her front door slam, a whoosh indicating vampire speed as someone skidded to a stop in her doorway.

"Caroline, you will never believe- _Oh my god!_ "

Caroline froze, trying to resist the urge to flash away and burrow herself under the covers, instead turning slightly to see Elena in the doorway, slack-jawed. Klaus, on the other hand, had no problem grabbing his discarded shirt from the floor and handing it to her.

She pulled it on, turning to face her friend, who still seemed to be having trouble processing, her eyes tightly closed.

"What is going on?"

"You interrupted," Caroline said primly, trying not to say something she'd regret.

"Yeah. I noticed," Elena said, squeezing her eyes shut. "God, I will never be able to get that out of my head."

Caroline snorted and Klaus immediately grabbed Elena's chin, forcing her face to look at him, and Elena opened her eyes in surprise, getting caught in his gaze.

"You will forget everything that happened since you walked in the doorway. Caroline was sitting in the chair on her laptop and I was clearly attempting to engage her in conversation, which she was ignoring. It was nothing out of the ordinary. You will go back home and text Caroline with whatever problem you were trying to talk to her about."

Elena repeated what he said, blinking slowly before leaving, and Caroline turned to Klaus, her eyes narrowed. "You can't just compel my friends, Klaus."

"She wanted to forget," he pointed out, putting his hands up in surrender. "I only did what she asked. I thought you wanted me to be nice to your friends. I was helping."

"Seriously?"

* * *

kc + "you keep shouting "THIS IS MY JAM" at every song that comes on i have a headache the size of nebraska you're lucky you're cute" au

* * *

"This is my jam!" Caroline (who was very clearly drunk) squealed for the sixth song in a row, and Klaus groaned.

It was the traditional end of year campfire at Mystic Falls High, and someone was playing their music as loudly as possible. He was almost sure that Caroline had bribed her mother to ignore the party, because there was no other way that it hadn't been shut down.

Normally, he found Caroline's boundless enthusiasm for literally everything rather endearing, but his head hurt, and he was in no mood for her exuberant shouting.

Honestly, did she _have_ to be that loud?

The only reason he was there was to drive an already-wasted Kol home (his mother having begged to make sure that he wouldn't get into trouble), and he was regretting that life choice.

He chugged another cupfull of water, sitting on a nearby log, and he vaguely realized that he hadn't heard Caroline shouting for two songs when he felt it shift slightly, a familiar scent wafting towards him. "Hey."

"Caroline," he greeted through gritted teeth.

"Ooh, someone's grumpy," she said, and he saw her frown when he opened his eyes just briefly before closing them again. Every word she spoke made his head pound.

"I have a headache."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I have some Advil in my car if you need it."

She looked so earnest in her offer, despite her slight slurring, and he found himself nodding, following her. "You're not going to drive, right?" he asked as she fished around in her glove compartment, pulling out a bottle of medicine and handing it to him.

"Are you joking? My mom would kill me."

"So, what, are you going to leave your car here?" he asked, popping two pills in his mouth and wincing as she closed the car door.

She watched him with knowing eyes, locking it back up. "No. Elena's our designated driver."

"Ah," he said simply, and Caroline nodded.

"So, any fun summer plans?"

"Not really. You?"

She shrugged. "Probably hanging around before I'm off to Whitmore in August."

"That's nice," he said awkwardly. "I should get back. I promised Mum I'd make sure Kol didn't die from alcohol poisoning."

He turned to leave, but Caroline grabbed his arm in a surprisingly tight grip, pulling him to face her. "Wait."

"What, love?"

"I like you," she said bluntly. "We've been dancing around each other for like, three years now, and we're going off to college, so like, I might as well tell you now, because worst-case scenario I only have to deal with the awkwardness of you not liking me back for three months, or you like me back and we can have an awesome summer, and I know this is probably really awkward, but I just wanted to tell y-"

He interrupted her with a kiss, and she wound her fingers in his henley, moaning softly into his mouth. He pulled back, slightly breathless, and her eyes were sparkling as she gave him a small, wicked smile.

"So you know," she said slowly. "There are apparently scientific studies that orgasms help cure headaches..."

"That's rather forward of you," he said, wondering when exactly he'd made a deal with the devil to make this happen and what he'd promised to pay for it.

"I know," she said, shrugging. "So?"

"You're drunk," he said, wishing that she didn't make him want to be a decent human being for once in his life, and she snorted.

"I'm not _that_ drunk, although if your morals really have an issue with that you can dance the drunk out of me."

"Is this your jam?" he asked dryly, and she scoffed.

"What, this song? No. Elena picked that one. Most of the songs on this playlist are my favorites though, since I organized the party."

"Right," he said slowly.

"So, are we going to dance? And maybe do some headache-curing later?"

Well, he'd be a fool to turn that offer down.

* * *

Let me know if you liked these. Do you have a favorite? Why? Any favorite lines?

Catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie

Hugs!  
-Angie


	17. Cough Syrup

Technically NSFW, but no smut, so it's going here. The ending scene is goldcaught's fault, because she had a reply on tumblr that needed to become a scene somewhere.

Summary: College AU. Klaus gets roped into babysitting when he already has plans with his girlfriend, and he is not pleased.

* * *

"I can't do it, Elijah. I'm sorry, but Caroline and I have plans," Klaus said, balancing the phone on his shoulder as he flipped through take-out menus.

"Niklaus, I understand that it's short notice, but Kol called and cancelled at the last minute, and Katerina and I have been planning this for months."

"No, I have an exam tomorrow."

"You had your last mid-term yesterday."

Klaus growled into the receiver.

"I'll pay you," Elijah said, the chattering of his daughters in the background, and Klaus scoffed.

"I'm not that desperate."

"They're so excited to see you," Elijah said, changing tactics. "They almost never get to spend any time with you since you started at Tulane. Elena's been talking about it all afternoon."

Klaus resisted the urge to inform Elijah that one of the reasons he'd picked Tulane was because it was close enough to the family that he could come home and steal food or do laundry if he needed it, but far enough away that none of them would bother turning up uninvited.

It had been two years, and this wasn't the first time it was proven that the strategy clearly had not worked.

"You already told them that I'm taking them for the night?" Klaus asked exasperatedly.

"Of course. I didn't think you'd be so against it."

"Elijah, the last time I watched them they destroyed half my apartment."

"I'm sure that with Caroline there it'll be easier."

"What? No, I'm not forcing Caroline to help me. She's coming here expecting dinner to celebrate finishing mid-term exams, not two uncontrollable seven year old monsters."

"Tatia and Elena aren't monsters, Niklaus. They're just excitable."

"How are you going to get here, anyway? It's a two hour's drive, and even if you leave now, you'll be late."

"Actually, we're going to be there in about fifteen minutes," Elijah said, and Klaus had never wanted to strangle his brother more.

Well, there had been many times when he wanted to strangle his brother, but this was probably in the top ten.

"Fine, but they have to behave. I'm not letting them scare Caroline away."

"Of course. I'll let them know. I'll see you soon, Niklaus."

Elijah hung up, and Klaus groaned as he immediately started shoving everything even remotely fragile on high shelves.

It was incredibly underhand for Elijah to ask permission after he'd already driven over; it wasn't as if Klaus could say no.

However, he wasn't sure how Caroline would react to them not being able to get take-out and spend some quality time after her self-imposed isolation (she was the sort of person that studied for exams over the entire week, rather than cramming the night before, and Klaus had never quite gotten the hang of leaving her alone when they were in the same room). She'd been dropping small hints about taking him to meet her parents, so he doubted she'd be opposed to meeting his family, but she didn't really like surprises.

He pulled his phone out and typed a text to Caroline to let her know that he'd been roped into babysitting and if she'd rather postpone it was fine.

She didn't answer, which meant that she was probably already driving over from the residence hall where she was an RA, and he tried to at least not look like he was about to commit murder when he heard the knock on the door, opening it to find his brother with two identical seven-year-olds hanging off his arms, who both gave him huge smiles. The one on the left gave him an enthusiastic hug, and he patted her on the head awkwardly while the other pushed between him and the doorway, bounding over to the couch.

"Elena's the one with the missing front tooth," Elijah said quietly, gesturing to the one still wrapped around Klaus's middle, who clearly had no intention of letting go. "Be good," he shouted at Tatia over Klaus' shoulder before repeating the same to Elena, who turned to hug Elijah.

"Bye, Daddy."

"Goodbye, Elena. Tatia."

Klaus stood aside in hopes that Elena would find something else to do other than limit his air supply, and Elijah left after counting out twice the amount Klaus had expected and shoving the bills in his hand, reminding him that the twins' bedtime was nine o'clock. Once his brother was out of sight, Klaus shut the door and turned to the twins. "My friend Caroline might come over tonight, so if she does I need you to be polite."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Tatia asked, perking up.

Klaus rolled his eyes, grabbing the nearest two take-out menus and shoving them at the girls. "Figure out what you want to eat," he ordered, turning on Netflix from his XBox and getting them set up with a child-friendly television show that appeared to have enough seasons to last them until bedtime.

There was a knock on the door soon after, and Klaus took a deep breath before he walked to the doorway to let Caroline in. She was wearing a trenchcoat, heels, and an exasperated look on her pretty face. "Klaus," she hissed, brandishing her phone. "Seriously?"

"It wasn't my fault," he whispered back, and Caroline sighed, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I know. I'm not blaming you. Although really, who would voluntarily let you watch their children?"

"Elijah," he grumbled, and Caroline laughed quietly, slinging her arms around his shoulders.

"I see that. Does he know you're a huge jerk all the time? He might change his mind," she asked teasingly.

"He lets Kol babysit, so I doubt it. And I'm nice to you."

She grinned, pressing her hands against his chest and kissing him lazily. "I know. I wouldn't be dating you if you weren't. I could stand for you to be a bit nicer to my residents, though. It isn't easy to have you around the floor with them all terrified of you."

"I have a reputation to keep up."

She scoffed, kissing him again. "Okay, whatever. Anyway, I need to borrow some clothes."

"What? Why?"

"Because I only have lingerie on under this. I was going to surprise you."

"I have never hated my brother so much in my entire life."

Caroline stifled a laugh. "I'm kind of excited to meet them, though. Is that weird?"

"Yes. They're cockblocking little demons," he muttered, and she snorted, smacking him on the chest.

"Klaus..."

"What?" he asked defensively, standing aside to let her in, and she walked past him, kicking off her heels by the door.

"Is this your friend?" Tatia asked, turning around to peek over the back of the couch. "She's pretty."

"I know," Klaus said shortly, and Caroline laughed again.

"Hi. I'm Caroline. What's your name?"

"I'm Tatia, and this is Elena."

Elena waved shyly, observing them with wide, brown eyes.

"It's nice to meet you," Caroline said.

"Do you know what you want to eat?" Klaus asked, and the twins shook their heads. "Well, best get on that, then."

He pressed a hand to Caroline's lower back, guiding her to his bedroom so that he could find her something to wear. He walked to the closet and pulled out one of his shirts and some of his drawstring sweatpants, turning around to offer them to her, his mouth going dry when she saw what she was wearing under the coat.

She was clearly fighting down a smile. "You like them then?"

"Yes," he said, his voice rough, hungrily drinking in her lace-framed breasts and long, lean legs.

"Good. Give me your clothes."

"Or you could just stay here and I can send them to bed early?"

"You wish," she said half-laughing, reaching out and tugging the clothes out of his hands. She pulled the henley over her head and stepped into the sweatpants, pulling the drawstring tight.

There was something undeniably hot about Caroline wandering around in his clothes, he decided as she bent to roll the cuffs of the sweatpants up just a bit, though he obviously would have preferred her in nothing.

"I'm hungry."

"You could eat in here."

"Ha. Funny."

"You don't want to have me for dinner? I'll return the favor..."

She snorted, slinging her arms around his neck. "As much as I'd love to, I want actual food."

"So, what, you were going to come here and expect me to eat while you were in that?"

"Yep," she said cheerfully. "I had a whole plan too. Lots of exaggerated moaning at the taste of food, finger licking, sucking on the spoon while I ate the ice cream that I strategically left in your freezer last week, probably making sure to accidentally spill some on my chest-"

"Stop talking or I might murder the twins," he said, trying not to think about the visuals she was describing, knowing she was just trying to get a reaction out of him.

And he was the mean one?

She smiled and he bent to capture her lips with his, making her moan softly, his hands landing on her hips. He let his tongue dart across her lips, savoring the small sigh she gave when she opened her mouth and he ran his tongue over the back of her teeth, her body going pliant in his arms. Her fingers tangled in his hair, tugging it as she pressed herself further against him. She stiffened when his fingers began fiddling with the drawstring on the sweatpants, pushing him away and smoothing her hair. "Shouldn't you be making sure your nieces don't burn the apartment building down?"

"They're fine. They're watching the Powderpuff Girls," he said, bending to kiss her again, but she dodged.

"Powerpuff," she corrected. "That television show is my childhood. Don't ruin it. Also, I'm still hungry."

"All right," he grumbled, breaking away and walking back into the small sitting room. "Have you decided what you want yet?" he asked the twins.

They quickly settled on pizza, and Caroline sat with the twins and watched television while Klaus set up the air mattress from the closet. By the time the twins finished their dinner, they only had about two hours to kill before they had to be in bed, and Caroline put on a Disney movie for them.

Caroline leaned against the armrest of the couch, her feet in Klaus's lap as she played games on her phone, and he did the same. He raised an eyebrow as he got a text from Caroline.

[From: Caroline]: I've been looking forward to this all week.

[To: Caroline]: I know, love. I'm sorry.

[From: Caroline]: Do you want to know what I've been thinking about while I waited?

[From: Caroline]: I touched myself every night thinking of you, Klaus.

His cock twitched in his pants, and he looked up to glare at her, but she was staring determinedly at her phone with a straight face.

[To: Caroline]: As much as I'd love to, I don't think now's the time, sweetheart.

[From: Caroline]: What happened to Mr. It's Always The Time from the library last semester?

[To: Caroline]: As I recall, you told me quite firmly that you were studying, and you cited that incident repeatedly as the reason for your isolation this week.

[From: Caroline]: Yeah, because I wanted you so much. Do you know how wet I got driving over thinking of what we were going to do?

[From: Caroline]: I'll tell you later if you want ;)

[To: Caroline]: You have me convinced, sweetheart.

[From: Caroline]: Good.

He spent the whole movie trying not to think about Caroline's promising words or the lingerie she was wearing underneath his clothes, and he found himself a bit jealous that Caroline somehow looked completely calm and collected the entire time. She carried on a rapid conversation with Elena and Tatia about the pros and cons of the different Disney princesses, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the way her lips moved. He managed to herd the twins through their nighttime routines with minimal fuss, and Caroline watched from the doorway to his bedroom with a small smile on her face as he let them each give him a hug.

"Can we have pancakes tomorrow, Uncle NIk?" Elena asked, peeking out at him from behind the stuffed bunny she clutched tightly in her arms.

"If you'd like, love. Go to sleep now, please. You've already been up ten extra minutes."

"Mmkay. I love you," she said, rubbing one of her eyes with her fist, and Klaus let her come in for another hug, petting her hair gently.

"You too," he said awkwardly, chancing a glance at Caroline, who looked like she'd spotted a particularly adorable puppy on the street.

"Goodnight, Caroline," Elena said politely, and Caroline grinned.

"Goodnight Elena."

Elena settled onto the air mattress next to Tatia, who was already fast asleep.

"Tuck me in, Uncle Nik?"

He pulled the covers up to Elena's chin, ruffling her hair affectionately one final time before standing and backing out of the room. Lingering in the doorway until it was clear that Elena had settled. Caroline was clearly suppressing a smile as he walked past her into the bedroom.

"You're so cute with them," she said once his bedroom door was closed.

"I don't know if minimal amounts of childcare and allowing hugs can be classified as cute, sweetheart."

"The hugs were cute," Caroline insisted. "And you _tucked her in_."

He gave her his best blank stare, and she just grinned. "Careful, or I'll have to tell everyone that you're a huge softie."

"No one would believe you, sweetheart. Now, I believe I was promised some post-exam attention?"

She gave him a wicked smile, sliding his sweatpants down her long legs and standing up slowly as his eyes trailed down her body. "Yeah. I missed you a lot."

He grinned. "I've been thinking about you all week," he said quietly, advancing on her, and she gave him a grin that was almost taunting as she backed up, the backs of her knees hitting the bedframe before she sat down, leaning back against the pillows.

"Tell me," she said, reaching for him, and he climbed in, balancing on his elbows above her, his lips hovering just centimeters from hers.

"There's nothing I'd like to do more than tell you every single thing I've fantasized about this week..." he said, his voice low and rough, just the way he knew she liked it, and her fingernails dug into his back as he leaned down and began to whisper in her ear...

 **XXX**

Caroline woke to the sounds of pans in the kitchen, and she slid out of bed to investigate, taking a moment to make sure that she was entirely covered before walking out. Klaus was pouring pancake batter in the pan in the shapes of the twins names or cartoon characters, and Caroline watched him with a small smile on her face.

"Good morning, Caroline," Tatia chirped, small drips of milk sticking to her chin, which she wiped off with her sleeve. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. You?"

"I'm okay. Uncle Nik said you were sick though."

Klaus gave her one of the most desperate 'play along' looks she'd ever seen, and Caroline stifled a grin with a cough, wondering what the whole thing was about. "Yeah, I'm not feeling all that well."

"Is the medicine helping?" Elena asked quietly.

"Yes," Caroline said, shooting Klaus her best 'what the fuck' glance she could when the twins weren't looking, and he shrugged helplessly. She poured herself some coffee and took Klaus's abandoned fork plucking a pancake off of his plate, ignoring his glare, and ate it as he set up a movie for the twins.

He sat beside her again once they were settled with milk and blankets, taking the fork out of her hand. "These are mine."

"I know," she said, before her voice dropped to as low of a whisper as she could get it. "So, what medicine?"

"They heard me tell you to swallow every last drop of it last night," he said lightly, and she choked around her coffee.

"Seriously?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tell them the truth?"

"This is not how I wanted to meet your family, Klaus," she hissed, and he rolled his eyes.

"Sweetheart, I doubt Elijah and my dear sister-in-law will ever know, and if they do Elijah will be too polite to acknowledge it ever again."

"And Katerina?"

"Just hope she doesn't find out," he advised darkly, and Caroline winced.

"You're not being very helpful."

"Sorry, love," he said, kissing her quickly, and she responded, her tongue moving to catch some syrup that had stuck to his bottom lip.

"Ew!" one of the twins said, and Caroline looked to see Elena with her hands clapped over her eyes as Tatia bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"I knew she was your girlfriend!"

* * *

Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you thought! Did you think Klaus was IC while still being cute with the kids? Did you think their reactions were cute? Let me know!  
Hugs!


	18. Tumblr Mini-Drabbles II

Fifteen Minute Minidrabbles I

* * *

Harry Potter AU - Caroline gets stuck on the astronomy tower and calls her boyfriend to help her down.

* * *

"It's not funny," Caroline hissed, her arms crossed as she glared at her boyfriend, who was floating a few feet away on his broom, his dimples on full display even as he tried to fight down his smile.

It was a clear night, and she'd flown up to _their_ spot on the roof of the Astronomy tower to do some homework, an anti-wind charm keeping her papers from flying away, and unfortunately, her broom hadn't gotten the memo and fell off the roof, floating off into the darkness, and she couldn't tell which direction, making it impossible to summon back. She'd done the sensible thing and called Klaus on her mobile floo, who was all too happy to come up and help her out, though it was clear that he wasn't going to without a bit of teasing first.

"You have to admit..."

"Klaus, stop being such a jerk and help me up!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said flying towards her and landing on the roof, keeping a tight grip on his broom. "Get on, then."

She huffed, checking around her one more time to make sure she had all of her papers and school supplies before hoisting her bag over her shoulder and climbing on behind Klaus, her arms sliding around his waist.

He flew around the castle to land by an open window on the bottom floor close to the dungeons (making it less likely that they'd be caught), and she clambered off, glaring at a still grinning Klaus. "What?"

"Nothing, love. Although I'm still a bit mystified as to how you managed to lose your broom."

"It just floated off," she said for what felt like the fifth time she'd had to justify it. "Stop making fun of me."

"I'm not. I'm not, I promise," Klaus said quickly, grabbing her hand, and they began to walk towards the common room. "Although thank you for calling me. I'm glad you had your mobile with you."

"Thanks for coming to get me," she said in response.

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of leaving the fair maiden all alone in the dark."

She snorted. "My hero."

"I wouldn't go that far, though I did risk detention for being out after curfew, so perhaps a little gratitude is in order."

She smiled slightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

"That's all I get? A kiss on the cheek?" he asked teasingly, and she was clearly suppressing a smile.

"Fair maidens are pure creatures, Klaus. I couldn't possibly allow you to defile me simply for saving me," she informed him, trying to keep a straight face, and he scoffed, pulling her flush against him and pressing his forehead against hers.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

Caroline reassures a very drunk Klaus about her feelings for him.

* * *

Caroline was memorizing the vocabulary for her French elective, the harsh rain pattering on the windowpane, when she was rudely interrupted by her apartment door opening with a crash.

She screamed, dropping her flashcards all over the floor before glaring at the intruder, but before she could speak, he began to talk, his words slightly slurred.

"Do not fall in love with me, Caroline. I will take you to places of which you've only dreamed, and kiss you until you're breathless, let my hands wander your body until my touch is so deeply ingrained under your skin that you'll never be able to return without a ghost of my taste on your tongue. I promised to be your last love, sweetheart, but I tend to go back on my word, and you never promised me eternity. I'll destroy you until you leave me behind, and you'll understand why the most vicious storms have names."

Caroline stared at him for a second, processing his words before taking a deep breath and setting her pencil down on the table. "Are you drunk?"

"A bit," he admitted, and she huffed, standing up and walking to him.

"You're an idiot," she said without any bite. "Take off your shoes and put them by the door and hang up your jacket. You're going to drip on the carpet, and I don't like mold. Also, you're really eloquent when you're drunk. I'm impressed."

He grunted in answer, kicking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket as she'd asked before walking to the kitchen table and sitting down on one of the dining chairs.

"So," she started, sitting down across from him, wrinkling her nose at the strong smell of bourbon clinging to him despite the heavy rain. "First of all, too late on the whole loving you thing. We've been together for five years and I have said it to you at least once a day for the past like, four. If you haven't figured it out yet, that is not my problem," she said, folding her hands together on the table. "Second of all, I'd remember you all the places we went even if we didn't have sex in like half of them, because, newsflash, I love you, and I'm not going to forget you. Third, I'm not leaving you, and if I was I'd be honest with you about it, because I'm not an asshole. You know why I'm not leaving? Oh right, I love you. You can have my eternity. You're welcome. And finally, if you want me to build on your metaphor, which was super melodramatic by the way, storms always clear up at some point, and I'm perfectly happy to weather any named Klaus, Niklaus, Nik, or any other version of your name, because you're worth it and I love you."

He was silent for a few seconds after her speech before he seemed to gather himself. "I see."

"Well, apparently you don't," she said, her voice icy. "Now, you can go take a shower, because you smell like booze, and I need to both calm down before the rest of this conversation, and finish my French homework. I assume you that know where my shower is, since you live here with me a good 90% of the time, which I let you do despite you ripping all my clothes and taking over all of my study space with your paintings...because why?"

"Because you love me," he said, his voice dry, clearly rapidly sobering up.

"Bingo. Go shower," she said, getting up as he did and walking around the table to hug him, burying her face in his shoulder and pressing herself against him more when he wrapped his arms around her. "Seriously," she said. "I really do. And you're worth it, okay? Get clean and come back and we can talk about whatever happened to get you this upset to make you go out and drink enough to get you wasted."

* * *

Caroline gets a photography internship at Discovery and goes to help out filming shark week, but then gets seasick. Luckily, her boss is there to help!

* * *

Caroline didn't get seasick.

Or, at least, that's what she told herself as she sat on the boat, trying to fight down her nausea. It was all about positive thinking.

When she'd gotten the photography internship for the Discovery Channel, she thought it would mean traveling and taking pictures of giraffes or elephants or something, not being on a freezing cold boat for an entire week in the middle of the ocean taking pictures of sharks.

To be honest, the Discovery Channel internship hadn't been her first choice (at all). She'd wanted to do one for a magazine that actually shot people, but the Discovery Channel had offered her money to intern, and that was too good to pass up.

The photographer she was shadowing did not help matters at all, either. He was the kind of person that the magazines she _wanted_ to work for would photograph. Lean and muscled with a wicked smile and tousled curls, he was totally model material. She would be incredibly attracted to him if he just kept his mouth shut.

Or, actually, he had an accent, so she supposed that it would probably be better if he just got possessed by someone who was less of a dick.

He was a perfectionist, incredibly strict with his employees, and did not tolerate excuses of any kind (which she'd learned quite quickly when she got a flat tire on the way to work and called in), which meant that her seasickness would most likely not be tolerated as a reason to not work.

He also criticized her work with a blunt, pointed tone, and though his suggestions were always constructive, and when she followed them her photos admittedly turned out much better, she still resented the way he delivered the critiques.

"Caroline."

Caroline paused her carefully monitored deep breathing to look at Klaus, said demon photographer, who was looking at her expectantly, and she realized he'd been talking.

"Can you repeat that?" she asked, her voice strained, and his brow furrowed.

"I said that I needed you to be set up and ready in five minutes for the shoot," he said impatiently.

"Okay," she said, standing up on wobbly legs, and he reacted quickly when she stumbled, grabbing her around the waist.

She was acutely aware of how good he smelled, his arm wrapped around her to prevent her from falling, his voice soft in her ear.

"Are you feeling all right, love?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she said, trying to push him away, and he scoffed, holding her tighter.

"No you're not, Caroline. You're clearly sick."

"So? Why do you care?" she mumbled, diplomacy forgotten for the moment as she concentrated on not vomiting on him.

"Because you're my employee. One I'm rather fond of, in fact. I don't like that you're unwell."

She snorted. "Fond of me? As if."

She felt her stomach lurch and pushed Klaus away from her, grabbing the railing and vomiting over the edge of the boat, coughing as the acid of it burned her throat. It took her a few seconds to realize that Klaus was brushing her hair back from her face, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Why did you come if you knew you'd get seasick?"

"First of all, I didn't know," she said irritably. "I've never been on a boat before. Second of all, I didn't think you'd take 'I can't go, I'm seasick' as an excuse. Also, don't you have to go do the shoot?"

"They can do it without me," he said impatiently, and she swayed as she stood back up. "It'll be easier if you come inside. You can lean on me, if you'd like."

"Okay," she said, too tired and nauseated to argue, and it wasn't until they arrived at a door that wasn't hers for her to realize where they were. "Why are we at your room?"

"Because it's closer and more comfortable," he said simply, unlocking it and leading her inside. "Not exactly stellar supervisor behavior, but you'll be sick for a while since we'll be here for a week, and I'd rather you were reasonably comfortable."

"Thanks," she said quietly, and he nodded, watching her stumble to his bed and toe off her shoes, curling up in her jeans and sweatshirt.

Her eyes drooped shut, and she vaguely heard him make a call on the phone to tell someone to do the shoot without him, and the last thought she had before she drifted off was that he might have a good side after all.

* * *

Modern Royal AU. Princess Caroline is trying to relax at the beach, but SOME people just want to ruin her plans...

* * *

Caroline groaned as the thousand and one Mikaelson children (okay fine, there were eight, and two weren't even there) ran by her tanning spot again, playing some sort of mutation of football.

She was not a fan.

This vacation was supposed to be a getaway from the craziness overtaking her country, at least for a few weeks, and the Mikaelsons had managed to infringe on her Me Time, not that that family ever _didn't_ infringe on her Me Time, especially Klaus.

He was the bane of her existence, and a consistent pain in the ass, who had fun ruining her plans and making her life miserable.

For instance, she'd planned on having a nice quiet calm day of tanning. Instead, Klaus had rounded up his siblings for some loud sort of sports game. She'd planned on having the entire summer to relax away from the pressures of the impending war, and instead she had a front row seat to the entire Mikaelson family fighting about literally anything they could find.

Most of all, she'd planned to have a summer free of distractions, and Klaus had thoroughly ruined that particular plan by working out over the year, and he'd walked around shirtless the entire summer so far, his tattoos and mouthwateringly toned abs on full display.

And judging by how he eyed her when he thought she wasn't looking, he didn't exactly mind her bikini, either.

She'd been watching him all afternoon, and she knew he'd probably noticed her not so subtle appraisal of him. She didnt have to wait long before he sat down beside her, casually crossing his legs out in front of him.

"Princess," he greeted with a dimpled smile.

"Klaus," she muttered.

"How's your vacation so far?"

"It would be better if you weren't here. You're making noise and distracting me from what's supposed to be a relaxing getaway."

"I'd love to listen to you make noise."

Caroline wrinkled her nose. "You're disgusting."

He shrugged. "I'm not the one eyeing someone they supposedly hate like a piece of meat, sweetheart. I mean, I wouldn't call it disgusting, but it's not exactly polite."

Caroline tried to fight down the flush, cursing how easily it showed on her pale skin.

"I don't find that I mind you being rude all that much, though," he said casually, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

She hummed to show that she'd heard, and he grinned wickedly, flashing a set of perfect teeth. "If you'd ever like a bite, feel free to let me know, sweetheart."

"You wish."

"Oh, I do. Constantly," he said, his voice low in a way that made her whole body shiver. "Don't you?"

He got up and jogged away before she could answer, and Caroline found herself wanting to follow.

* * *

Klaus was supposed to kill Caroline, but he ended up falling in love with her instead. Unfortunately, Caroline stumbled across the contract that ordered her death.

* * *

This had to be the most awkward silence Klaus had ever had to endure.

Caroline had never done well with silences, but she remained quiet, staring out of the passenger side window, and had been for two hours now. He'd expected her to have talked by now, but it was possible that he hadn't known her as well as he thought he had.

Then again, it was just as possible that she was being stubborn and waiting for him to talk first, because she was always stubborn about _everything_ , a quality he loved and hated in equal measure when they'd been...

Well, that didn't matter much anymore.

At least, not to her.

Apparently.

But it mattered to him.

It mattered to him even though she'd ripped out his heart two months before and broken it in two. The wound was still fresh, the image of her with her skin flushed with rage, tears clinging to her eyelashes, face raw from sobbing, was burned behind his eyelids.

And all right, so maybe he'd ripped her heart out first, maybe she'd broken him when she was already in pieces. He'd never forget the words she spat at him, the ones that hurt so much because he knew that he deserved it.

 _I shouldn't be surprised, really. You told me you were a horrible person when we met, and I guess the one thing you didn't lie about was the one thing I didn't believe._

He cleared his throat, and she flinched, but didn't look at him.

"Caroline-"

"Don't," she whispered. "Just get me to your stupid safe house or whatever so I never have to see you again."

His knuckles were white against the wheel. "It's not what you think," he ground out.

She scoffed. "Okay, then why am I on my way to a house in the middle of nowhere?"

"Because I'd rather have you alive, safe, and loathing me than have you dead and thinking i'm a saint."

"I never thought you were a saint," she said, and if he listened hard enough he could hear the hint of humor in her voice.

"You could always see through me."

"Apparently not enough," she said, her tone biting, and he sighed.

"Caroline..."

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me."

"How exactly was I supposed to have that conversation with you?"

"Well, not letting me find a note that said that if you don't 'finish the job' with me they'll kill us both would be a good start."

"But I didn't kill you."

"Woo. Gold star."

He sighed as they pulled into the driveway of the house tucked in the snowy hills. "Come on, love."

She didn't debate the use of the nickname, and silently followed him as he showed her around the house, telling her where the emergency supplies were and giving her a map of the nearby town as well as her new identification documents and the credit card that would be linked to his account.

"I can't believe everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Once I tie up the loose ends you can go back."

"The loose ends..." she muttered, running a finger along the top of the kitchen counter. "Nice way to talk about people."

"People that want you dead."

She shrugged, and Klaus was about to give her an awkward goodbye when the lights flickered, and he swore as the power went out completely.

"This is great," Caroline said grumpily, and Klaus sighed, pulling out his phone and lighting the flashlight to find the candles.

They worked in almost-silence as they built a fire in the fireplace, only speaking when one of them needed something, and Klaus grabbed blankets for them.

"Did you plan this?" she asked, picking at a stray thread in the afghan.

"What? A blizzard? I think that's a bit beyond my capabilities."

"No. Falling in love with me."

He couldn't help but smile slightly.

"So you acknowledge it."

"Well if you didn't, I'd be dead. Just because you love me doesn't make you a good person. It just means you have good taste."

He bit back the sexual innuendo about her taste that weeks ago would have made her laugh, but now would probably resut in her pushing him headfirst into the fireplace.

"No. I didn't," he said honestly. "Did you plan on falling in love with me?"

He expected her to deny it, but she looked faintly surprised, the flickering light of the fire lighting her face up in a way that he longed to sketch.

"No. I didn't."

"Do you regret it?"

She was quiet again, still picking at the fabric of the blanket, her lips pursed. "How long do you think the blizzard will go for?" she asked, ignoring his question, and he nearly smiled at how clearly she dodged it.

"I don't know."

"But you'll be stuck here with me until it clears up?"

"Yes."

She took a shaky breath. "Maybe tomorrow you could tell me what it is. If it's not what I think."

"I'd like that."

* * *

Thank you for reading! Tell me which one was your favorite. Any feedback? Lines that particularly stood out?

I'd love to know!

Hugs!


	19. Dear Candy

Summary: Caroline runs a sex advice column for _Mystic Magazine_ under the pen-name Candy King. When she meets Klaus's siblings Kol and Rebekah for the first time, they find out that Kol is Candy King's biggest fan. Kind of cracky.

For klaroline-heaven, who's been having a bit of a rough time. She chose this one off my prompt list. I'm not awesome at straight humor, but I did my best. This obviously talks about sex, so I wouldn't call it "safe for work", but there's no smut. It was a quick one, so no beta.

* * *

 _Dear Candy,_

 _I am female recent high school graduate in rural Virginia, and I've been with my boyfriend, S, for the last year. S is very kind most of the time, though he tends to get a little overprotective, and often tells me that he's not good enough for me. He has a bit of a white knight complex, and it can be frustrating. He has an older brother, D, who seems to have taken an interest in me recently. He is very controlling and prone to violence, but he says he'd never hurt me, and I think I can get past him beating up my brother multiple times and nearly killing my childhood best friend's sister if we have something epic. Should I stay with S, who clearly loves me? Or break up with him for D? Any help would be appreciated._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Torn_

Caroline stared at the email for a good minute straight. She was the writer of a sex advice column for a popular magazine (though she was also one of the fashion editors), and she rarely got questions like this, but when she did they blew her mind. How could this girl not see what a disaster both of these relationships obviously were?

It was late, and she'd been reading through emails for the past hour or so, trying to find a good one for the next column. This seemed like a good candidate, she decided, hitting the star and moving it to one of her email folders. She flinched when there was knock on the doorframe.

"Sweetheart, it's almost midnight. Are you coming to bed?"

Caroline turned around to see Klaus in the doorway to the home office they shared. He was shirtless, his sweatpants sitting low on his hips, hair mussed. She quickly checked the clock before wincing, realizing that she lost track of time and it was nearing midnight. "Yeah. Sorry. I was just reading through the letters we got today. I have to pick the three by tomorrow afternoon and run them by Jenna, and your family is coming over for dinner, so I'm not sure I'll have time."

He gave her a sympathetic look. "It'll be fine, Caroline. It's only Kol and Rebekah, and they're both thrilled to meet you. I'll run interference if needed."

She nodded, giving him a grateful smile and standing up to stretch. She yawned as she followed him back to their bedroom, sliding into bed and curling on her side, feeling the bed dip as Klaus climbed in next to her.

 **XXX**

"Does this look okay?"

"Yes," Klaus said, his eyes glued to the soccer ("football") game on television.

"You didn't even look."

Klaus turned quickly to glance at her outfit, his eyes roving up and down her form as he took in the brightly colored blouse and the white denim shorts that hugged her legs, his tongue darting over his lips. "You look lovely."

"Your sister won't think I'm a fashion disaster?"

"You could be wearing her clothes and she'd still call you a fashion disaster. If she does, it's because she's jealous that your job is picking out clothes."

"There is a lot more to my job than picking out clothes," Caroline said for what felt like the hundredth time.

She knew Klaus was just teasing her. He knew perfectly well how demanding her job was, and it was the only reason that she didn't want to claw his eyes out when he said it. It also didn't hurt that it allowed her to tease him for spending too much time on his painting when he could be spending it doing much more pleasurable things with his fingers.

"I know, love. In any case, you and Rebekah will have quite a lot to talk about, even if you disagree on the finer points of fashion."

"That's comforting," Caroline said grumpily, walking to sit down beside him on the couch and resting her feet on the coffee table, her cherry-colored toenails contrasting against her pale skin.

"Did you finish picking out your questions?"

"Nope," she said tiredly, taking her tablet from where she'd left it on the cushions and snuggling against his side as she opened her email again. "I have a few options, but I need one or two more."

"Anything interesting?"

"Yeah, actually. There's some teenager who's trying to choose between two brothers who both sound like terrible options. I also have a woman who wants to date a fellow teacher at the high school she works for, but his last two girlfriends have died under mysterious circumstances. She seems to think he's nice, but from what she says, he spends a lot of time hanging out with his female students, and it rubs me the wrong way."

"Sounds riveting."

"Hey, I think I give excellent advice."

"You do, sweetheart. I just fail to understand how people come up with these ridiculous situations."

She shrugged, going through the rest of the emails to pick out two more questions while Klaus watched the football game. She copied and pasted them into an email to Jenna and set down her tablet, leaning her cheek against Klaus's shoulder as he followed the players on the screen.

"So, tell me more about Kol. We talked a lot about Rebekah because you apparently think she's going to try to eat me alive-"

"I'd bet on you any day, sweetheart."

"Well, thanks, but that's not the point. I want to know as much as I can going in."

Klaus shifted, sliding his arm around Caroline and tugging her to snuggle into his side. "Well, Kol just graduated from uni. He majored in Advertising. He's quite the baseball fan, and he's interning for some record company in the sales department."

"That's all you know?"

"Kol and I spend a bit too much time fighting to engage in small talk," Klaus said, and Caroline huffed, shifting to rest more fully against him.

"You're not very helpful, you know."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, love."

She hummed and closed her eyes. She'd stayed up late working on her article and Klaus had woken up at six o'clock to meet with a client who wanted an early morning portrait done, leaving the bed cold. She let herself doze for a while, turning out Klaus's grumbling about the game and the 'bloody idiot coaches' in favor of some nice cuddly napping.

She stirred when he jostled her a bit to wake her up, blinking a few times as she sat up, and swore when she checked the time. "Klaus! We have like, half an hour!"

"I know. That's why I woke you up."

"I was supposed to start on dinner like, an hour ago."

"We'll just order in."

"Order _in_?" she asked, scandalized. "For guests you've never met before? Were you raised in a barn?"

"I have met them before. I grew up with them, in case you forgot."

"Right, but I haven't."

"You're mental," he mumbled, stretching and standing up, walking to their small kitchen to grab a take-out menu from one of the drawers. "Kol and Rebekah both like Thai?"

"Okay," Caroline said, inwardly panicking.

She didn't like it when her plans went awry, and the fact that they'd done so so early in the evening gave her a bad feeling. Klaus seemed to know what she was thinking, since he gave her an exasperated look while he called into the Thai place, and she busied herself setting the table.

"Everything's going to be fine, sweetheart," he said after he hung up the phone, calmly watching as she adjusted a plate with a small smile on his face.

Klaus generally found her neuroticism endearing, something that she still didn't understand after a year of dating, but she was thankful for it in this particular instance. Focusing on the details helped her calm herself, and she'd mostly stopped freaking out by the time the doorbell rang.

Klaus went to answer it, and Caroline tentatively stepped out from the kitchen to see Klaus not returning Rebekah's hug, his arms hanging at his sides as he tried to escape.

"You must be Caroline," Kol said, walking to her and shaking her hand, sending her a wink.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you."

"You're right, Nik. She looks delectable."

"Kol, let's not objectify the poor thing before she's had a chance to get to know us," Rebekah said, and Caroline bristled.

It was going to be a long evening.

 **XXX**

"So, what do you do, Caroline?"

"I'm one of the fashion editors at _Mystic_ ," Caroline said, swallowing the 'as you know' that she wanted to say. "You?"

"Oh, Nik hasn't told you?"

"Doesn't mention you much," Caroline said with a fake smile, and Rebekah looked at her critically for a moment before nodding.

"You'll do."

Caroline shot a 'what the fuck' look at Klaus, who was distracted by Kol attempting to snatch the food off of his plate.

"Kol, you read Mystic, don't you?" Rebekah asked with a rather vicious grin, and Kol shrugged.

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of celebrity gossip. I'm sorry to say that I do skip the clothing bits, darling, but I do enjoy the interviews."

"And the advice column," Rebekah said with a knowing smile, and Kol had the look of someone who was trying not to commit murder.

Caroline nearly choked on her food and shot another confused look at Klaus, who looked just as surprised as she was.

"Really?"

"Yes. Why, do you know her? Since you work at the same magazine, I'd assume so. Any chance of getting me a date?"

"No. She's seeing someone," Caroline said, feeling a bit awkward.

No one knew who Candy was, and she intended to keep it that way. She gave lots of advice specific to sex, and she'd often hinted that some of her advice came from personal experience. She doubted that Kol would want to know that much about her and Klaus's sex life, and Klaus looked equally disgusted at the thought.

"He's a lucky bloke. She seems quite...adventurous."

"I think she sounds like a bit of a slut, to be honest," Rebekah said with a toss of her hair.

"Liking sex doesn't make you a slut, and having sex with lots of people isn't bad as long as you're safe," Caroline said quickly with narrowed eyes. "Having a sexual appetite is nothing to be ashamed of."

"That sounds like something she'd say," Kol said with a grin.

"I agree with her on a lot of things," Caroline said, trying not to wince at her own words before concentrating very hard on eating.

"What do you disagree with her on?" Kol asked interestedly.

"Can we not talk about this?" Caroline asked. "It's not really dinner-table conversation."

"Why not? It's a shared interest," Kol said, and Klaus seemed to sense Caroline's panic.

"If it's all the same to you, brother, I'd rather not know what your sexual preferences are."

"Fair enough," Kol said. "I don't want to know yours either."

"Well that's ironic," Rebekah said, stabbing a bit of tofu with her fork. "Since you read about it every week."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kol asked.

"Isn't it obvious? She's Candy," Rebekah said calmly. "She's quite defensive and desperate to change the subject, and she talks the same way she writes."

Kol looked vaguely sick, and Caroline honestly wished the floor would swallow her. Rebekah seemed to have no such problems, though, and she chewed her Pad Thai thoughtfully before speaking again, a mischievous smile on her face. "So, do you have any recommendations on remote controlled vibes? Enzo and I are looking to-"

"Stop talking, Bekah. You've made your point," Kol said quickly.

"But I want to know," Rebekah said, her wide, innocent eyes anything but.

"Well I don't."

"But don't you read the column?"

"I think I've conveniently forgotten everything about Caroline's sex life."

"Excellent," Klaus growled. "Let's have it stay that way."

"How about we do coffee next week and talk about it then, Rebekah?" Caroline suggested, trying not to laugh. "I'm sure we can swap tips."

"Let's change the subject," Kol said hurriedly. "How about that Arsenal game earlier, Nik?"

Klaus groaned and launched into a drawn-out rant that Caroline decided to ignore, instead engaging Rebekah in conversation about the next season's trends.

Kol couldn't look her in the eye for at least a year, but once he'd gotten over himself, he teased them mercilessly about the things she referenced in the column, which he still apparently read, so he couldn't have been that traumatized, could he?

* * *

Let me know what you thought. Did you have a favorite moment? A favorite piece of dialogue? Any constructive criticism?

Hugs!  
-Angie


	20. Letters

This drabble is a birthday present for Tonya, aka lilbreck. She asked for an Elijahbeth (Elijah x Liz Forbes) and Klaroline fic with the prompt "letters" so I did a Harry Potter AU told entirely through letters. There's mostly equal airtime between both pairings. At the start of the fic, Klaus and Caroline are both 11 (first years), Elijah is 30, and Liz is 32. Thank you to Lynyrd Lionheart for the readthrough.

* * *

September 14th, 2003

Dear Ms. Forbes,

With the understanding that many of our students do not go out of their way to write to their parents to keep them up-to-date on their lives, this is the first of the four updates you will receive every school year detailing your child's progress at Hogwarts.

I'm pleased to inform you that Caroline is settling in just fine. She's transitioned to residential life well, and her behavior and personal conduct is exemplary. Her teachers have expressed that she's an enthusiastic and bright young lady, and she seems to get on well with the other students in her year.

I do encourage you to write to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

September 15th, 2003

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Caroline has been given two days' detention for punching another student in the nose.

Fighting, both magical and muggle, is strictly prohibited at Hogwarts. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Hi Mom,

Hogwarts is amazing! I really love my Charms teacher, and the food is great.

I know you probably got a letter because I got detention because I punched Klaus in the nose, but believe me, he TOTALLY deserved it.

My friend Katherine who I met on the train was playing gobstones with me and we were minding our own business and Klaus came over and asked if she took his sketchbook. I don't know why he asked her because obviously she didn't take his dumb sketchbook but he apparently thought she did and he called her an ugly liar and so I punched him in the nose.

If he hadn't been so mean I wouldn't have had to do it!

Detention wasn't too bad, though. Professor Laughlin had me help her grind horseradish powder for the potions cabinet.

I promise I'll try not to get in trouble again.

Love,

Caroline

* * *

Elijah,

School is all right. I was sorted into Slytherin.

There's a girl here named Caroline who is unnecessarily rude. She punched me in the nose like a Muggle with absolutely no provocation. I don't understand what she was upset about, but she's irritating and I hope I don't have to spend too much time with her.

I'm thinking I might go out for Quidditch. I know first years aren't allowed their own brooms, but I'm assuming you can get them to bend the rule?

~ Klaus

* * *

November 12th, 2003

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Caroline has been given three days' detention for casting a full body bind on another student and hiding them in a closet, as well as being out of her common room after hours.

Using magic on another student out of class time without their consent is prohibited at Hogwarts, as is leaving the dormitory after nine o'clock for First through Third Years. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Mom,

Please don't be mad. It wasn't my fault, I SWEAR. Klaus and his friend Marcel were following Katherine and me when we were coming back from the kitchens, and I know we weren't supposed to be out that late, but Katherine and I were really hungry. So anyway they were following us and we just heard footsteps and so I thought someone was going to attack us so I cast a full body bind. I heard a teacher coming and we didn't have time to undo the spell so we had to hide him SOMEWHERE or we'd get in trouble.

I know we got in trouble anyway, but the POINT is we were trying not to.

Anyway, I'm really sorry and I'll try not to get caught again.

Love,

Caroline

* * *

SHE PUT ME IN A BODY BIND AND HID ME IN A CLOSET, ELIJAH. THIS GIRL IS A MENACE.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

Did you do anything to provoke her?

~ Elijah

* * *

I might have intentionally crept up behind her to startle her, but I do not believe that my behavior was far enough out of line for her reaction.

~ Klaus

* * *

February 8th, 2004

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Caroline has been admitted to the hospital wing for more than one night because she sprouted octopus-like tentacles on the backs of her hands.

Healer Gilbert believes that she will make a full recovery by tomorrow morning.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

February 8th, 2004

Dear Mr. Mikaelson,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Niklaus has been given three days' detention for a Tentacle Sprouting Jinx on another student.

Using magic on another student out of class time without their consent is prohibited at Hogwarts. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your ward about proper behavior.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Niklaus,

Please explain the reason you received detention. I have duplicated and attached the courtesy notice for your convenience.

~ Elijah

* * *

Caroline.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

I asked you to explain the reason you received detention.

~ Elijah

* * *

I told you. Caroline is the reason.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

What happened?

~ Elijah

* * *

Caroline happened.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

Are you being deliberately obtuse? I am asking what situation occurred with Caroline to cause you to receive detention.

~ Elijah

* * *

Yes.

~ Klaus

* * *

June 12th, 2004

Dear Ms. Forbes,

I hope you are looking forward to a wonderful summer holiday.

Caroline has blossomed over the school year, and it's been lovely to see her grow. I've enclosed her final grades for the year, and you'll see that she's done quite well.

I'm looking forward to having her back next year.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

October 10th, 2004

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Caroline has been given two days' detention for casting a Pimple Jinx on a fellow student during an altercation.

Fighting, both magical and muggle, is strictly prohibited at Hogwarts. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

On a related note, Caroline is doing exceptionally well in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and seems to be getting the hang of minor jinxes and hexes quite easily. I've advised her to consider picking up theory of Curse-Breaking as an elective next year.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Hi Mom,

I know you probably got a note about my detention, but he ruined my birthday. He put a niffler under my bed, and it tried to steal the necklace you gave me. I think he should have been suspended. Pimples were the least of his problems.

Professor Bennett didn't seem that mad at me after she managed to catch the niffler, and she told me I should think about signing up for Curse-Breaking next year! I think she might have secretly been a little impressed, because Pimple Jinxes are a fourth-year level spell.

Thank you for the necklace, by the way. It goes really nicely with the earrings Daddy and Steven got me.

I miss you a lot, and I'm looking forward to coming home for break!

Love,

Caroline

* * *

October 10th, 2004

Dear Mr. Mikaelson

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Niklaus has been given one day's detention for improper care of his pet and allowing it to harm the belongings of others.

Though we allow pets at Hogwarts with permission by the student's head of house, this permission may be revoked at any time should we believe that the student is not taking the responsibility of their pet seriously. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Caroline hit me in the face with a pimple jinx when Tyler escaped his cage, and I got detention for it because Caroline's a teacher's pet and Bennett loves her. Can't you talk to the board and persuade them that this is an unjust abuse of power by professors who blatantly play favorites?

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

There's nothing I can do about Professor Bennett's judgment, nor about your detention. Please do try to keep out of trouble in the future, and keep Tyler in his cage.

~ Elijah

* * *

Dear Ms. Forbes,

My name is Elijah Mikaelson, and I'm the legal guardian of Niklaus Mikaelson.

While I understand that magic and socializing are both a part of Hogwarts daily life, I find myself concerned by how often my brother seems to end up in trouble because of his association with your daughter, who seems to constantly antagonize him.

Though I am not attempting to criticize your parenting, perhaps it might be possible for you to speak with her about her inappropriate behavior.

Sincerely,

Elijah Mikaelson

* * *

Mr. Mikaelson,

Considering that Caroline has ended up in the hospital wing more than a few times, I think it might be best for you to ask the school who is the one instigating these events and why. From what my daughter tells me I think it might be possible that your brother's account of the events is heavily biased.

He put a niffler in my daughter's room. That's unacceptable and inexcusable behavior.

Thank you for your concern, but your opinion on how I raise and discipline my child is irrelevant and unwanted.

Best,

Elizabeth Forbes

* * *

Dear Ms. Forbes,

I am extending an apology for any annoyance you may feel from my comment. Please do understand that I mean well. I have contacted the school, and it seems that Niklaus did, indeed, instigate some of the incidents. However, I have been assured that your daughter had an equal part in it, though Professor Bennett implied that Niklaus may have goaded her in an attempt to gain her attention.

In addition, the niffler is Niklaus's pet, and it simply escaped from its cage. It was an unfortunate accident.

I do hope you'll consider speaking with your daughter about her apparent sensitivity to verbal comments, and how she might learn some coping mechanisms that enable her to ignore any perceived slights.

Best,

Elijah Mikaelson

* * *

Mr. Mikaelson,

Your blatant lack of tact in your comments on my parenting style have been duly noted. Perhaps you should invest in a more secure cage for the niffler.

Unless the school requires us to communicate for some reason, I'd like to firmly request that you do not contact me again.

Best,

Elizabeth Forbes

* * *

March 10th, 2005

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Caroline has been admitted to the hospital wing for more than one night because she was hit with a stray Antler Jinx. We have been assured by all onlookers that the student who cast it was not aiming for her, but nonetheless I assure you that they will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.

Healer Gilbert expects her to be fully recovered by Wednesday, March 16th.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

March 10th, 2005

Dear Mr. Mikaelson

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that your ward Niklaus has been given one day's detention for casting a Bat Bogey Hex on a fellow student.

Fighting, both magical and muggle, is strictly prohibited at Hogwarts. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Dear Niklaus,

Please explain to me the circumstances of the letter I received from your Head of House, which I have duplicated and attached for your convenience.

~ Elijah

* * *

Damon Salvatore is an arse and hit Caroline with an antler jinx, so I hexed him.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

I was under the impression that you didn't like Caroline. Have you two found some common ground?

~ Elijah

* * *

Of course I don't like her. She's an annoying, haughty, sanctimonious bint. I think the only thing that we agree on is that Damon Salvatore is a pompous git.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

It's ungentlemanly to use derogatory terms when speaking of women. In addition, though I do not condone fighting for any reason, I am pleased that you were able to perform such an advanced piece of magic. Perhaps you should consider taking Curse-Breaking as one of your electives for next year?

~ Elijah

* * *

November 2nd, 2006

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a notice to inform you that Caroline has been given two weeks of detention for excessively disruptive behavior during class time, hexing another student, and the use of foul language.

Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

As per school policy, when any detention lasts two weeks or longer a conference is called with the primary guardian of any students involved in the incident.

The scheduled conference date as of now is November 9th. Please let us know by owl or by mobile floo-mailing the main office as soon as possible if that date works for you.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

November 2nd, 2006

Dear Mr. Mikaelson,

This is a notice to inform you that Niklaus has been given two weeks of detention for for excessively disruptive behavior during class time, being disrespectful to a professor, and hexing a fellow student.

Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

As per school policy, when any detention lasts two weeks or longer a conference is called with the primary guardian of any students involved in the incident.

The scheduled conference date as of now is November 9th. Please let us know by owl or by mobile floo-mailing the main office as soon as possible if that date works for you.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Mom,

I promise that I can explain! Look, Klaus is the actual worst, something we both know and acknowledge, and Professor Bennett put us together for a Defense project and so maybe we might have had a fight during in-class work time, but it was TOTALLY HIS FAULT, and if he had just LISTENED it would have been fine.

Now I have two weeks detention with him. Can I have like, 12 sickles to buy some noise cancelling headphones?

Love,

Caroline

* * *

Dear Ms. Forbes,

I appreciate your willingness to open a dialogue regarding the incident between Caroline and Niklaus, and again I do apologize for the way my comments might have come off during our previous correspondence. I, for one, think that the conference seemed to go quite well.

Niklaus has had a very difficult time adjusting to living with other children again so soon after I took custody, and I believe that this may be his way of attempting to gain my attention. This is obviously not an excuse, but merely an explanation.

I will speak with him when he returns home for break about proper behavior.

Best,

Elijah Mikaelson

* * *

Dear Mr. Mikaelson,

Thank you for being willing to have a discussion.

I understand the difficulty of helping your child transition into a new family situation. In my experience it gets easier with time, and I know that the situation is something Caroline can sympathize with.

I think that the conference went well too, and I'm glad that we're on the same page now.

I'll speak with Caroline about the incident as well.

Best,

Elizabeth Forbes

* * *

Dear Ms. Forbes,

Thank you for your kind words.

I do hope that we've gotten past my previous comments?

Best,

Elijah Mikaelson

* * *

Dear Elijah,

Yes. I accept your apology.

I actually have an unrelated question, if that's all right. I hope it's not too much trouble, but you mentioned at the conference that you're at the Department of Wizarding Law. I need to get some patent work done for the security company I run, and I was hoping you could point me in the right direction.

Best,

Elizabeth Forbes

* * *

Dear Ms. Forbes,

I'd be delighted to assist you. Perhaps we should meet over coffee to discuss this further?

Sincerely,

Elijah

* * *

Dear Elijah,

Thank you for the coffee and impromptu dinner, as well as the help with the patent. I really appreciate it. I hope that we'll get to see more of each other.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

* * *

Dear Elizabeth,

Perhaps you would consent for another dinner this Friday?

Sincerely,

Elijah

* * *

Dear Elijah,

I'd like that a lot. How does Italian sound?

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

* * *

Dear Elizabeth.

It sounds perfect. I'll meet you at The Phoenix Hearth at seven?

Fondly,

Elijah

* * *

December 8th, 2006

Dear Mr. Mikaelson,

I have assigned group projects to be done over winter break based on class standing. Klaus has been paired with Caroline Forbes, and they'll need to meet a minimum of three times over break to finish it. If there will be a problem arranging those meetings, such as a family trip or previous plans, please let me know so that we can find a viable alternative.

Best,

Malachai Parker

Professor of Curse-Breaking

* * *

Let's go on vacation over break.

~ Klaus

* * *

Niklaus,

Unfortunately, I'll have to ask that you complete the project with Miss Forbes as directed with minimal fuss. Elizabeth has agreed to host you at her house. Do be polite.

~ Elijah

* * *

Klaus,

I swear to god if you mess up this project for me I will kill you in your sleep. I know where you live.

* * *

Caroline,

And risk losing my position as top of the class? Wouldn't dream of it.

~ K

* * *

Klaus,

Literally the ONLY reason that you're top of the class is because you got the extra credit question at the end of the test right, which was total luck.

* * *

Caroline,

Ah, so what you're saying is that I got a better score than you? Sounds like a completely invalid reason to have a better grade. My apologies, love.

In any case, next Monday around half-noon?

~ K

* * *

Sure. Whatever.

And don't call me love.

~ C

* * *

Caroline,

I've prepared the notes for our second meeting as requested. How does Friday at one sound?

* * *

Yeah, that works for me. See you then.

~ C

* * *

Klaus,

I'm sick. I don't think I can make the last meeting. I'm sending over my notes, and you can send me a copy of the final project, if that works for you.

Sorry,

Caroline

* * *

Do you not have cure elixirs at home?

~ K

* * *

Is this about what happened on Friday?

~ K

* * *

Caroline, we need to get this project done. This is incredibly immature of you. You were the one who kissed me, after all.

~ K

* * *

I'll have to tell Professor Parker that you backed out at the end. Do you honestly want to risk your grade over this?

~ K

* * *

May 4th, 2007

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a notice to inform you that Caroline has been given one week of detention for talking back to a professor, an unsanctioned duel with a fellow student and being out of the dormitory after hours.

Fighting, both magical and muggle, is strictly prohibited at Hogwarts, as is disrespectful conduct with a professor and being out of the dormitory after ten o'clock for fourth through seventh year students. Whenever an incident like this occurs, we encourage you to reach out and open a dialogue with your child about proper behavior.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Elijah,

Do you know what's going on with Caroline and Klaus?

* * *

Liz,

I believe that they had a falling out.

* * *

Elijah,

Everything was going so well though!

* * *

Liz,

It was too much to hope for, I suppose. We'll have to find a way to tell them some other time. Perhaps next year?

* * *

Elijah,

We've been together for six months. I think it's time.

* * *

Liz,

Let's talk about it again in the fall. Hopefully by then they'll have matured enough to take it well.

* * *

November 3rd, 2008

Dear Ms. Forbes,

This is a courtesy notice to inform you that Caroline has been given three days of detention for being out of her common room after hours, inappropriate public displays of affection, and damage to school property.

The staff at Hogwarts understands that students need room to learn to develop healthy romantic relationships. However, we do not allow students to socialize after hours.

In addition, due to Hogwarts' use of magic-resistant furniture in classrooms, we are unable to repair them with magic if they're broken. We have split the monetary charge for the purchase of one (1) magic-resistant instructor's desk between you and the family of the other party involved.

The invoice is enclosed.

Best,

Professor Qetsiyah Bennett

Defense Professor, Head of Slytherin House

* * *

Hi Mom,

I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to break the desk. Klaus is a little bit stronger around the full moon, and it was a total accident.

Also, Klaus is my boyfriend. Sorry I didn't tell you.

And I swear to god we were only kissing!

Again, I'm really sorry, and I'll pay for it with my own money from my job at the apothecary last summer.

Love,

Caroline

* * *

Elijah,

Would you and Klaus like to come for Christmas? From what it sounds like, they're getting along well enough now.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought of the format and how the drabble flowed. Any favorite lines? Letters? Parts?

Thanks for reading!  
Hugs!


	21. What I've Become

This is 300th full-length drabble, and I thought it appropriate to celebrate this landmark by publishing a (very late) birthday present for my wifey, CKHybrid. She is one of the most fabulous people I know, a great writer, and an awesome friend. She makes my day brighter whenever we talk, and she is a gift to this world.

Her prompt was "zombies" and I kind of ran with it to create this monster (oops)… This is loosely based on a story from the Warcraft universe, but so loosely that even if you played it would be 50/50 whether you actually recognized it.

Thank you to the fabulous Sophie for beta work.

* * *

 _Revolutionaries wait_  
 _For my head on a silver plate_  
 _Just a puppet on a lonely string_  
 _Oh who would ever want to be king?_

 _~ "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay_

* * *

 _Present..._

All she could feel was heat, the burn deep in her bones.

In her twenty-six years of life, she'd never truly wanted to use her powers to hurt someone, never wanted to burn someone's skin to the point of pain.

Until now.

"You can't do it. It wouldn't make any sense anyway. The crown would just take control of someone else."

"No one else presents the same danger wearing the crown. We could keep them contained. We cannot do that with Niklaus," the King said calmly, his hands folded together as he sat at the head of the table in the mission room.

"This isn't his fault, Elijah."

Soft gasps were heard around the room at her daring. To address the King by his given name was a privilege given to very few, though she got away with it because he'd known her since she was a child, as well as because of the relationship she had had with his younger brother.

Emphasis on 'had', something that caused her pain every day when she woke to cold sheets and a broken heart.

The military leaders and honored advisors quieted with a single look from her, the quick burst of sparks in her palm enough of a warning to make their mouths shut with audible clicks.

Though she'd never truly hurt anyone before beyond a singed tunic or burnt hair, hell hath no fury like Lady Caroline Forbes facing down something she believed to be unjust, and what the King was suggesting was certainly an example.

"It doesn't matter, Caroline. He's killed people. He's no longer an innocent in my eyes, and therefore he may be dealt with," Elijah said calmly.

Not for the first time she cursed Elijah's twisted morals. "He hasn't killed anyone. It's the crown."

"It has consumed all of his humanity. He's no longer an innocent citizen," Elijah said quietly. "Are you proposing that we let him continue sending his armies to ravage villages around the kingdom simply because he doesn't know what he's doing?"

"I'm proposing that we free him from the mind control."

"And how do we do that, exactly?"

"I don't know, but I can't let you kill him," she said, trying not to let her voice waver despite her throat beginning to close, her heart pounding in her chest. "I can't."

Elijah sighed, standing slowly and walking toward her, laying his hand gently on her shoulder. In that moment, the other people in the room faded away. It was just the man who had minded her and his siblings at the palace before Finn died and he had had to prepare to take the throne, who was practically family to her. "This isn't an easy decision for me to make, Caroline. He was my brother just as much as he was your betrothed."

"He still is your brother," she hissed, stung at the mention of the now-void betrothal, the lurch in her stomach making her nauseated.

"He's not Niklaus anymore, Caroline. He's a monster. He has to be put down."

She shook her head, her curls flying. "I'll find a way. Give me time to find a way. I'm so close..."

"A week," he said quietly, looking at Caroline with genuine sympathy. "After that, we must act. The people are becoming restless."

She nodded. A week was better than nothing. She backed away from Elijah, dropped the quickest possible curtsy for it not to be an insult, and turned to leave, laying her hand on the doorframe and turning back when he called her name. He was looking at her with a piercing gaze, his face stoic. "I pray with every fiber of my being that you succeed. No matter how impossible the task seems, I do want my brother back, Caroline. Please do remember that I am, in fact, on your side."

She gave him a quick nod and swept out, the skirt of her robe fluttering around her ankles.

Taking a deep breath, she let her magic gather in her palms, closing her eyes and bringing her palms together, disappearing from the room without a sound and materializing in her private library.

She had work to do.

 **XXX**

 _Several years earlier..._

Caroline took another deep breath, trying to summon her concentration, and opened her arms, willing her palms to heat. She felt the first flicker of flame in her right hand, and she brought her hands slowly to face each other, trying to keep the fireball growing. She took a deep breath and brought her hands up to aim her fireball at the target, preparing to throw it.

"Hello, love."

She flinched, and the fireball flickered out of existence. "Don't surprise me like that!" she said exasperatedly when she turned around to see Klaus behind her.

"I didn't mean to," he said, his tone completely unapologetic as he gave her a small smile, hands laced behind his back as he walked to stand beside her.

"Liar."

"It's good to see you, Caroline."

She locked her eyes with his as he approached before pulling them away, not wanting to get sucked in.

He was magnetic, and she gravitated toward him no matter how much she tried to resist. She'd tried to fight it, mostly because she knew that the arranged marriage between them was inevitable, and didn't particularly want to be with him if he just saw her as a convenient, if not guaranteed, choice. If their relationship was going to become anything more than one of convenience, she decided that he needed to show her that he wanted her, that he wouldn't take her for granted. Her family was well-respected, and had only come to be nobility in the past three generations, which made her desirable as new blood.

She was only a few years younger than Klaus, had known him since she was a child beginning her magical training, and as children they had always clashed a bit personality-wise. They were both ultra-competitive, and Klaus liked goading her to see the fire erupt in her eyes.

Born of a family of mages, it had been obvious from birth that, though she had an aptitude for both fire and healing magic, the former had been her path. The burn was more noticeable when she was intensely happy or angry, licking the underside of her skin, making her hair stand on end as her spine went straight, open flame gathering inside the palm of her hand. For as long as she could remember, she'd let her nails bite into her skin as she tried to suppress the sparks that leapt from her fingertips before they caught to flame, not wanting to hurt anyone, and, other than one or two early mishaps, she had always succeeded.

In terms of raw power, Caroline was above average, but what made her special was her impeccable control. She had hardly ever suffered the sort of issues common to young mages. They tended to set things on fire or make them explode by accident. She'd always had a temper, though, and Klaus tended to bring out the worst in her with his wicked smirk and knowing eyes; he seemed to be the only one who was capable of making her tight grip on her powers waver.

He made her lose control.

Klaus, by contrast, was incredibly powerful, his frost magic a wild tempest that destroyed everything it touched, almost sentient on its own. Many in the kingdom feared him. He was merciless to those who dared challenge him to duels in the seedy underground of the city. Many men had wanted to be the first to best him, but all had failed. Most accepted their defeat with dignity. However, occasionally sore losers would seek him out, often with friends or allies, and those who ran the tournaments tended to look the other way when their corpses showed up in dark alleys with icicles still clinging to their skin.

Caroline, however, did not.

There were no excuses that were good enough to justify killing them, and she told him so whenever she heard that another man who had attempted vengeance on Klaus had turned up frozen to death.

He would just give her a dimpled smirk and point out that death by frostbite was kind compared to the death they'd get for an assassination attempt on a Prince.

She hadn't seen him in a few months. He'd gone to train with Silas, one of the most respected mages of the century, and he hadn't been expected back in the kingdom for a year or two, at least.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, more curious than annoyed, and he stuck his hands in the pockets of the jeans under his open robe, his head tilted slightly as he studied her, a small smile on his face.

"I came to visit."

"I can see that," she said, trying not to smile back. "Why are you visiting?"

"You."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't just want to see my betrothed?" he asked. She stared at him, waiting for him to explain further. "Finn's gone," he said simply, and she wasn't surprised to see the apathy in his eyes.

"Oh," she said softly, stilling when he took another step to into her space, his hands landing on her hips possessively, and she wrapped her fingers around his forearms, more to steady herself than to move him. It wasn't a surprise. They'd known for years that it would happen, but Finn dying would definitely move up the timeline. "It's official, then?"

"Yes. Just a few months."

She swallowed audibly, her cheeks heating as he stared at her. "Right."

His expression softened, the barest hint of a smile on his lips, and he traced absent-minded circles on her waist over the cloth of her robe before looking back at her. She tensed at the vulnerability in his eyes, and he swallowed before he spoke again. "You could say no, of course, but your parents support the match, as do mine. Neither of us are perfect, Caroline, but you're brilliant, beautiful, witty..."

"Klaus," she sighed, rolling her eyes at his over-the-top compliments, and he gave her a dimpled grin, continuing, his tone teasing.

"Stubborn, judgmental, endearingly self-righteous... I'm glad it's you, sweetheart."

She could feel his magic in the air, the featherlight brush of it when he touched her, the scent of it clinging to every inch of her skin, marking her, and she found that she didn't mind.

Her breath caught as he let a finger trail down her side, tracing the curve of her torso. "And you must admit that you knew I was fond of you, Caroline. I saw you blush when we exchanged stolen glances just months ago. Your magic reached for mine, as much as you tried to resist, and I saw the look on your face when you denied yourself my touch."

"Klaus..."

"Caroline," he repeated, his tone a low rumble that made her breath catch.

She bit her lip. It was true that she'd been denying the pull between them, their connection.

And maybe, between all of the sniping and the banter when she was too young to know the feeling, the lingering touches as they grew older, the genuine smiles when he let his guard down just for her, she'd figured out that she liked him.

"After my training is complete," she said quietly, warmth blooming in her chest when a slow, dimpled smile spread across his face, and she hadn't realized how stiff he was until he relaxed underneath her fingers.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

He gave her a soft smile, the one he reserved just for her, and she felt something hot and flickering begin to burn within her, a sensation she'd only felt when tangled in her sheets alone in bed.

"Was there ever any doubt?" he asked.

She didn't answer, her eyes darting down to look at his lips before locking with his again, and she couldn't help but smile at the need for her clear in his eyes.

"I guess not," she said finally, the words barely a whisper as she leaned towards him, bringing her hand up to cup his stubbled cheek, tracing his jaw with her thumb.

They were so close, their lips just centimeters from meeting, and she felt her heart pound in her chest from anticipation. He squeezed her hips lightly, and she closed her eyes, his nose brushing against hers as he moved to leave a lingering kiss on her forehead.

"We'll talk more about it later," he said softly. "I clearly interrupted."

She nearly pouted at the loss of his touch as he stepped back, and he smiled, seeming to recognize the direction of her thoughts. "I'll come back tomorrow, shall I?"

"All right," she said softly, unable to tear her eyes away from his. "See you then."

He gave her a dimpled smile before letting a purple-tinged light swirl around him, making him disappear, and she watched him go, almost still able to feel the warmth of his lips against her forehead.

 **XXX**

Klaus reappeared in the bedroom he'd used when he was training at the academy, his nails digging into his palms. It had taken every piece of self-control he had not to kiss her, not to pull her with him as he teleported so that he could finally see her face when she shattered from his touch.

He'd always liked her. Platonically when she was young, all bright eyes and enthusiasm as fire bloomed from her hands, and something more primal when she'd arrived at the academy three years after him. He remembered it well, little Caroline Forbes walking through the front door like she owned the place, her robes hugging her curves in a way that made him feel like a lecherous old man just because he couldn't deny himself a glance. Mindful of the three year gap, he had kept his distance, despite knowing what she hadn't at the time.

She was his.

He'd watched for the last two years of his training, taking note of her habits, her likes and dislikes, how she took her coffee and the hearts of everyone around her. He asked her out for dinner twice in his last year. He knew he'd be gone for awhile, had wanted to spend more time with her before he left, to unravel the mystery that was Lady Caroline Forbes.

She'd said no both times. The first included a good natured roll of her eyes and a pointed 'Seriously?' before she walked off to join her friends. The second, she gave him a delightful curl of her lip as her eyes spat sparks. producing a whole host of reasons when he'd pressed (mostly just to see how she'd respond), the most prominent of which being "you're an ass."

She noticed him sneaking off the grounds in her second year and followed him to the underground dueling arena, had watched him take on three men at once and win easily.

Afterwards, she'd marched up to him and told him that what he was doing was illegal and dangerous and wrong, her manicured finger poking harshly into his chest, eyes narrowed. He was absolutely certain that she was about to run off to write to his mother, was reluctantly ready to stop her in the least painful way possible, when she tossed her curls over her shoulder with a mischievous smirk and told him that she'd keep her mouth shut if he left her alone and stopped giving her 'stalker eyes'.

That was the moment he fell in love with her.

He stopped bothering her for dates after that, and he had to suppress his smiles at how her initial indifference changed to covert glances she didn't think he'd see, the way she'd let her hand rest on his forearm when they talked, how his name rolled off her tongue with a note of affection that had never been present before.

When he'd gotten the apprenticeship with Silas, she'd given him a bright smile and a tight hug, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, and he'd held her for a bit longer than friends would, inhaling the scent of her hair and memorizing the shape of her body pressed against his.

"You're going to do great," she'd said with a huge, toothy grin, her eyes sparkling with pride for his accomplishment, and it had been the first time anyone had so bluntly believed in him, had been excited for him. He'd never quite been able to capture that enthusiasm on paper, even though the memory of her face in that moment was imprinted in his mind forever.

 **XXX**

Caroline growled in frustration as she tried to make the fireball she'd thrown veer to the left, and it kept going straight before landing in the grass, making a small fire that she put out with a wave of her hand.

She was slightly distracted by the news of her betrothal the day before, her anticipation of her conversation with Klaus plaguing her thoughts, making it difficult to concentrate. She wasn't all that great at directing her fire once it left her hands anyway, but it was much harder today.

"Hello, sweetheart," said Klaus from behind her, and she jumped, whirling around, her heart pounding.

"Seriously? Stop doing that."

"Apologies," he said, smiling, and she scowled.

"Don't make me burn your face off."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me," she growled, and he laughed.

"As lovely as you are when riled, I'd rather not get to that point."

"Good," she muttered, and he took a step closer, the familiar feeling of his magic reaching out to stroke her skin making her shiver.

"What are you working on?"

"Hitting the target," she said, turning to gesture at the bullseye in front of her. "I can create the fire and launch it fine, but I'm having trouble directing it after I throw it."

He hummed, pressing his hand to the small of her back as he stood beside her, and she leaned into him without really thinking about it, liking the connection, the feeling of his touch.

The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Can you help me?"

"With your magic?"

She nodded.

Klaus grinned, a ball of frost coalescing in his hand before he casually launched it at the target, the ice moving direction when it was clear it was slightly off, hitting the middle effortlessly.

"Show-off," she muttered.

"I thought you said you wanted help. I was simply giving you a demonstration," he said, his face the picture of fake innocence.

"I don't need a demonstration. I need you to help me learn to do it," she said exasperatedly.

"It's all about focus," he said quietly, letting another ball of ice form in his palm. "I know that you lock down your magic, Caroline, but you have to let it flow through you naturally for this to work. Think of your magic as an extension of your body, rather than as a tool to use."

"What do you mean?"

"You have the best control over your magic of anyone I've seen. For this, you need to control it in a different way. You have to keep control over something physically separate from you while maintaining the connection. Suppressing it won't work."

She felt him move behind her, his hands landing on her hips. "Close your eyes."

She did, trying to even her breathing, but the way his palms were pressing against her hips made it difficult to concentrate. His fingers began to trace the curve of her waist, and she grabbed his wrists.

"It's really hard to focus when you're touching me like that," she said, blushing, and he chuckled, removing his hands, but remaining behind her.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Close your eyes, sweetheart."

She wrinkled her nose before trying to calm her racing heartbeat and closing her eyes. She let her breathing start to even, a meditation exercise she'd been taught when she was a child to help keep her magic under control.

"Good. Do you feel your magic flowing through your veins, Caroline? The prickle underneath your skin?"

She focused on the physical sensation of her power coursing through her, and she opened her eyes, letting flame gather in her palms, pulling them apart slowly to let the fire grow before releasing it, the fire speeding through the air, tugging at her power, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to force the ball in the direction of the target. The flame rocketed into the ground, creating a small explosion, and she was about to put it out when Klaus created a ball of water and let it fly into the flames, dousing them.

"You're trying to force it, Caroline. Remember, let your magic guide it, not your mind. You can do this by instinct. I won't let you hurt anyone. I've got you."

She didn't answer, though she felt reassured by his response, and she began again. Breathing slowly as she gathered herself, she created the fireball, holding her breath as she let it fly, suppressing her urge to stop the flow of power, instead trying to let her magic push it.

It hit the target in the center, the crackle of flame sounding as the target caught fire, and she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Good, sweetheart," he said from behind her, the pride in his voice making warmth surge through every inch of her. She was about to turn around when his hands landed on her hips again to keep her in place. "Do it again."

"Seriously?" she muttered, and she heard him laugh again.

"You wanted my help," he reminded her, and she sighed before re-centering herself.

"Hands off," she muttered, and he pulled back.

She did it five more times, easily getting the hang of it, and when she turned around to ask him whether she had proven that she could do it, she found herself nose to nose with him.

They remained there for a few seconds as though frozen in time, and she felt wonderfully cloaked by the scent of him, the feel of his magic, the sensation of his touch.

The moment was broken when she kissed him.

It wasn't her first kiss by any means. The training academies were full of teenagers with too much energy living in close quarters, so she'd been in the back stacks of the grimmoire library more than a few times. Still, it was the first one that made her toes curl from just a chaste brush of their lips, the surge of energy addictive and sweet and right.

She opened her eyes as he pulled away, her breath catching, and he stared at her as though he wasn't quite sure that she was real. He swallowed audibly, his hands tightening on her waist, fingers running short paths along the line of stitched embroidery that curled around the cloth.

She wanted to taste him again, wanted to feel every bit of him pressed against her, and she met his returning kiss with enthusiasm, letting out a soft sigh against his mouth as she laid her hands on his biceps, feeling them flex under her fingertips as he tugged her closer. She felt a sudden flash of icy cold from his hands before she was displaced, and when she opened her eyes she was in her bedroom.

She could hardly process that they'd somehow teleported through the wards before he was kissing her again. She could feel the crackling buzz of their magic meeting around them, the vibrations of it fusing with her skin, making her toes curl, her lower belly tightening. He broke away to brush his nose along her jaw, his lips pressing light kisses to her skin, before tugging her earlobe between his teeth, his tongue darting out to soothe the bite.

She moaned as his tongue darted into the sensitive spot of skin behind her ear, and she felt him smile against her skin. "You like that, sweetheart?"

"More," she said horsely as she nimbly unfastened her robes, pushing them to the floor to leave her in just her underthings. His also fell to the floor quickly, and she could feel her magic swirling around her like a cloak, humming in anticipation as he reached to touch her bare skin. She let her body fuse to his, their limbs tangled as they stumbled to her bed.

She pulled back to look at him, her hair a curtain around their faces as she took in his puffy lips and dark eyes, the small smirk on his face as his gaze skated along her body and face.

"I want to memorize every curve of your body, to remember the color of your skin when you flush, the specific shade of your eyes when they go dark with lust," he whispered, reaching to stroke a knuckle down her cheekbone. "I'm going to need it later."

"For what?"

"To immortalize this moment on paper, of course," he said with a dimpled smile. "You're too beautiful like this to simply be a memory, Caroline."

"Right," Caroline said, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice, and Klaus flipped them over, balancing himself on his elbows as he looked at her with fascination, bending to brush his lips against her cheek with a featherlight touch.

She was intensely aware of the heat of his body, his necklaces dangling down to brush against her collarbone, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from his as he pulled back to stare at her, his expression predatory and full of want.

He was about to speak, probably to say something ridiculously sappy and romantic, when she heard some footsteps and a shriek of laughter outside in the hallway, and she almost felt like the world had snapped back into place around her, pulling her from the pleasurable and much-preferred-to-reality haze of his touch against her skin.

"How did you get past the wards?" she asked, her voice almost embarrassingly breathless.

"Magic," he whispered, raising his eyebrow in a challenging stare.

"Well, obviously," she said exasperatedly, but he just grinned, bending down to kiss her again.

She moaned softly into his mouth, her legs parting to wrap around his waist, and she'd never felt so wanted as she did when he pulled away to look at her, his eyes dark.

She spoke his name, but the word caught in her throat, twisting into a moan as he pressed his lips to her neck, his hand on her lower back, the other sneaking under the waistband of the lace covering the slick, sensitive skin between her thighs, and she felt her mind go blank as she lost herself in feel of his touch.

 **XXX**

Caroline sat next to Klaus in the private briefing room, his hand intertwined with hers, clustered with the rest of the royal advisors, military leaders, and close family, trying to figure out a plan to deal with the latest threat.

There was a plague making its way around the kingdom, slowly but surely. Whole villages of people were simply dropping dead before reanimating mere hours later as mindless corpses, hungering for the flesh of the living.

They seemed to move in packs, terrorizing neighboring villages and turning the residents there to make a larger army. One of Caroline's dearest friends, Bonnie Bennett, had been a resident of one of the villages attacked, and had barely saved herself.

She was also a fire mage, but surpassed Caroline's raw power by leaps and bounds, and she'd set the entire village on fire by accident because she'd been so scared. She'd lost control.

On the bright side, she was still alive (though it had been a close thing), and they learned that fire killed the undead.

"Our people are dying, Elijah. You have to figure out where the plague is coming from."

Caroline watched with sympathetic eyes as Elijah sighed, rubbing his eyes with his palms in a distinctly un-Elijah-like gesture. "We know where it's coming from, Lord Saltzman. It's spreading from the east through the kingdom, and Lady Bennett, who briefly spoke with me before being taken to the hospital to have her wounds tended to, has found a strong correlation between deliveries of crops to the various villages with the emergence of the plague a week later."

"You think it's the crops?" Caroline asked, slightly alarmed.

"Yes. We need to find a way to stop the spread."

"We should just find the vendor and take the crops away," Lord Saltzman said irritably. "How hard can it be?"

"Well, except that the people who are carriers will travel between towns and infect everyone. Destroying the crops will only prevent future illnesses from that. We can't do anything about those already sick," Caroline said.

"You and Niklaus should investigate further," Elijah said. "We need to know who infected these crops in the first place."

"I'll go by myself," Klaus said immediately, and Caroline raised an eyebrow, turning to him.

"What?"

"There's no need for you to put yourself in danger, love. I'll handle it."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Princess Rebekah pinch the bridge of her nose. "Niklaus, you idiot..." she mumbled, and Caroline almost smiled.

"While normally I'd agree, Caroline is the only one I trust with the power to grant temporary immunity to disease. It's limited, but effective."

"I'll be fine," Klaus said, brushing it off. "I can take a cleansing potion."

"We don't know if those work," Elijah pointed out.

"We don't know if purification spells are effective either, and I can't let her—"

"I'm coming," she said quietly, but firmly enough that all heads swiveled in her direction. "You're not going to stop me unless you trap me here, and we both know that you're too smart to try."

Klaus's mouth was pressed in a thin line, his eyes icy, but he nodded jerkily, and she could practically feel his anger crackling in the air, knew that he was going through a million plans in his head of ways to make her stay.

She was proven right three hours later after they teleported just outside the first village where the plague had taken hold.

The village was eerily silent, almost fully intact other than the stench of death. Caroline was holding Klaus's hand tightly, a golden aura radiating from both of them as she kept up the spell.

"If I say run, you run, do you understand?"

"Klaus..."

"I can't fight if I'm constantly checking on your well-being."

She bristled, sparks escaping her fingers. "Are you calling me a liability?"

"I'm calling my feelings for you a liability," he said bluntly. "I love you, Caroline. Keeping you safe is my highest priority."

"I will be safe, Klaus. I can protect myself. Do you think I can't handle it?"

"Whether you can handle it is irrelevant, because I know that I can't. Do I think you're strong enough? Absolutely, but I'd rather not test whether I'm able to remember that during a life or death situation in practice."

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "What about my feelings for you, Klaus? This goes both ways. I can't leave. What am I supposed to do, teleport back and freak out because you might get sick? If you get hurt and I could have stopped it, do you think I'd be able to forgive myself?"

He seemed to be about to say something before he shook his head and looked away, though his grip on her hand tightened. "We'll be quick," he said quietly, and he tugged her with him into the village.

Caroline walked with him as they followed the signs toward the village market, the damage becoming steadily more severe the closer they got to the center of the village. Caroline felt her stomach turn when she saw a small child with their flesh partly rotted, the smell of death permeating her senses.

They finally approached the cart of food, and Caroline looked at it consideringly, noting the spirals of green smoke.

"It's magic," she said decisively. "This isn't natural. It's a potion, probably. My guess is that they irrigated the fields with it. We should see if the farmer is under the plague or not."

One visit to a rotting corpse slumped over a tractor later, they'd traced the source back to a nondescript house. Caroline was drained from holding the spell up for so long, and Klaus seemed to notice, his arm sliding around her to support her as she swayed, feeling a bit lightheaded.

She felt a rush of air and the tingling of magic, opening her eyes to see that they were on a grassy hilltop. "You can drop the spell, sweetheart," he said, and she let her magic go, feeling instantly better. "Are you all right?"

"I just need to eat, I think."

He nodded. "I'll get you something. Hold on a moment."

He disappeared, and she closed her eyes, only to be nudged awake by Klaus what felt like mere moments later, holding a sandwich out for her to eat, and she took it eagerly, feeling better almost as soon as she'd finished.

She laid down in the grass, laying her head in Klaus's lap, smiling contentedly as he fiddled with the ends of her hair. "Why do you think someone would do this?" Caroline asked abruptly. "Now that we know it was purposeful, I just don't get why."

Klaus shrugged. "Creating chaos, I suppose."

"But it's obvious that they're making a zombie army," Caroline said quietly. "Are they trying to take over the kingdom?"

"If they are it's an inefficient way to do it."

Caroline snorted. "Inefficient?"

"Well, if you turn everyone into a mindless zombie, there wouldn't really be any point to ruling, would there? It wouldn't be any fun at all."

"You think being King of the world would be fun?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Are you saying it wouldn't be?"

She considered it for a few seconds, trying to picture what it would be like. "I think that if you're having fun making the sorts of decisions that rulers make, you're probably doing it wrong."

"That's possible, I suppose."

She laughed, sitting up and tangling her fingers in the necklaces he wore to pull him in for a kiss. "I think so. Anyway, ready to go save the world?"

"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?"

"I think the vendor must be the one who's casting the spell. Otherwise they would have died," Caroline said. "We have to get him before he kills more people."

Klaus didn't look convinced that she was well enough to go anywhere, but at her glare, he reluctantly nodded, holding a hand for her to take, disappearing.

They reappeared by the town just up the road from the most recent outbreak. Usually vendors brought their goods and had a few days in the market before traveling to their next stop, and they managed to find the farmer (or, rather, the imposter) in the square, packing up. He was wearing normal clothes, though he had on a large straw hat despite it being a cloudy day, and she could have sworn she saw something shiny and metal peeking out from underneath it. Caroline recognized him from somewhere, but couldn't quite recall where.

He seemed to feel their eyes on him because he looked up, a flash of recognition flickering in his eyes. Before they could do anything, the man had teleported away, leaving a half-packed stand filled with food. Klaus shook his head at her silently before teleporting them out to the edge of the village.

"We'll have to do a quarantine," Klaus said grimly. "We can make a rune-powered barrier around the villages. No one goes in or out."

"But that will kill them all within weeks, if not days," Caroline said, her eyes wide. "Those who don't catch the plague themselves will be trapped in the bubble with the re-animated corpses, who will try to kill them as well. We can't do that to innocent people."

"We have to, Caroline."

"We'll find a way to separate the sick from everyone else. We can find a cure."

"We don't have enough time for that," he said firmly. "We need to keep the rest of the kingdom safe. It's worth the sacrifice."

"I can't let you do that."

"Well what am I supposed to do, Caroline? Let it spread? Watch you die in my arms only to have to destroy your corpse when you wake? Become a victim to the plague myself?"

"Klaus..."

"If you can't handle this, you need to go back home, Caroline."

"I can't be with someone who kills innocent people."

She hadn't meant to say it, the statement slipping out without real forethought, and she regretted it immediately.

Deep down, she knew that Klaus's solution was the best one, if a bit cold-blooded, and she was about to say so when she met his eyes, and she felt like every part of her had frozen, unable to react.

His expression had gone cold, and she felt an unwelcome stab of fear in her gut at the glimmer of fury in his eyes. "Fine. You can pack your things while I ensure that you won't become a hunk of walking rotting flesh. Leave the ring. It's a family heirloom."

"Klaus," she gasped, feeling hot tears build in her eyes, her throat closing.

"I love you, Caroline, but I will not be manipulated into putting you in danger for fear of losing you. I'd rather you're alive and loathing me than you ending up a slow-moving brainless corpse when I could have prevented it."

She took a breath that made her body shudder, his eyes flashing with hurt before it turned to determination. Her heart clenched uncomfortably, heat flooding her cheeks. She was about to say that she hadn't meant to manipulate him, to make him think she was giving him an ultimatum. She had only felt guilty, her mouth moving faster than her brain.

Before she could get the words out, he waved his hand, and she found herself in their bedroom. She tried to teleport back, but after a moment of panic where she couldn't find her magic, realized he'd bound her powers.

She sat on their bed waiting for him to come back, beating herself up for being such an idiot, and angry at him for being so cruel.

Caroline paced for a while, planning the speech that she'd give him that morphed from a heartfelt apology to anger the longer that she waited, and she laid down on his side of the bed after about an hour, her face buried in his pillow, and fell into a restless sleep, expecting him to shake her awake and ask what she was still doing there.

Instead, she woke mid-morning to a soft touch to her shoulder.

"Klaus?" she mumbled, opening her eyes blearily, but she saw Elijah standing over her.

"Where is Niklaus, Caroline?"

"He didn't come back?"

"No. I take it that you haven't a clue of his whereabouts either?"

"No. I...I said something to him that I shouldn't have said, and..." she trailed off, tears slipping down her cheeks, half-expecting Elijah to back away slowly at the first sign of Woman Feelings, but instead he calmly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Tell me."

 **XXX**

He knew she hadn't meant it.

It had been clear from her wide, blue eyes staring at him in horror as soon as the words left her mouth to her clear preparation to give a rambling apology that he unkindly interrupted. He doubted that she'd actually go through with leaving, was sure that when he came back she'd be pacing in their bedroom, alternately seething with rage and feeling absolutely terrible. He didn't want to put her through the emotional wringer, and he fully intended to make it up to her once he got back, but she was weak from her constant casting and too determined to do The Right Thing, and he wasn't willing to sacrifice her for that.

Still, seeing that flash of hurt in her eyes before he sent her away would haunt his nightmares until she was curled in his arms again.

He would do anything to keep her safe, and he knew that the only way to truly do that would be to stop the man they'd seen teleport away.

There was something eerily familiar about the man's piercing blue eyes, his twisted smile, but Klaus couldn't quite recall from where. He tried to carve runes into a few nearby rocks and place them around the town border as quickly as possible to construct a barrier, trying to come up with a plan to find the man responsible for the spell.

It was clear that the man was a mage, because he teleported away, and he had no way to know where the man had gone. He'd have to do a locator spell, and for that he'd need something of the man's.

He had made a few vials invulnerability elixir earlier that day. Each would last for an hour. While Elijah and Caroline didn't seem confident that the elixir would work, he was. The theory was sound, and it wouldn't take long to investigate the farm where the plague had started, and hopefully he could find something that had belonged to the man.

Two hours, a trip back to the disgusting farmhouse, and four failed locator spells later, he finally found an object that led him somewhere else.

He took a deep breath, focusing on the path of teleportation. Once he'd killed the warlock, destroyed the remains of the plagued food, and quarantined all who might be sick, he could explain everything to Caroline, and she'd understand.

He'd done it for her.

Without a sound, he disappeared from the farmhouse, materializing on a mountaintop.

He could see a cave, and he walked over, wanting to get the whole thing over with. The man had his back turned to the mouth of the cave, and Klaus shot a lance of ice at the man's head, killing him instantly.

The silver runed crown that he and Caroline had caught a glimpse of under the man's hat clattered to the ground, and he walked toward it to get a proof of kill.

It was too easy, he thought with a smirk.

He picked it up and suddenly felt a strong urge to put it on. Frowning, he tried to fight the feeling, to drop the crown, but almost as if in a trance, he set the thing on his head.

 _Yes, too easy...So much more power than the last..._ a foreign, nasaly voice said in his mind. _Now, bring up your hand, and cast the spell in the grimmoire in front of you..._

Miles away, every corpse that had been infected with the plague rose as one, trudging together to nearby towns, teeth gnashing, ready to tear skin.

 _You did want to be a King..._

 **XXX**

 _Present..._

Caroline took a deep breath as she glared at the grimmoire in front of her, fighting the urge to set it on fire. It had been two long years since she'd walked away from Klaus, two years since the attacks increased in rate and power, and two years since she'd begun doing research on where he could have gone.

The unwelcome answer had been a slap in the face six months before when she saw a picture of what was clearly Klaus standing behind a huge army of the zombies, the headline of the paper proclaiming that the prince had committed treason and was the one behind the plague.

Her mouth had dropped open as she stared at the picture, unable to believe it. She'd traced every inch of his body with her fingers hundreds of times, been held for countless hours in his arms as she slept, felt the brush of his stubble against her skin so much that she could almost recall the exact sensation. In the photo though, his eyes were blanked, his expression twisted in a cruel sneer, and she almost didn't recognize him.

Frowning at the photo, she'd traced the line of his face with her fingernail before noticing the silver, runed crown circling his head. The same one that had sat on the head of the man who had created the plague.

She'd been trying to find the origins of the piece ever since, and had managed to track down a few myths that indicated that the thing was hundreds of years old.

The name of the crown in the ancient script roughly translated to Jewels of the Plagued, and supposedly it took a vessel and possessed the body, and the only way to get it off was to kill the vessel and then resist the urge to put it on (theoretically, at least, since no one had ever resisted the pull). From the runes engraved on the picture, she managed to gather that the crown capitalized on the impurity of a soul to latch onto, slowly corrupting it and leaving only small dregs of their previous humanity. Only the purest of hearts could wear the crown and control the risen corpses without succumbing to the temptation of the evil impulses within.

There had been a cult devoted to completing the crown's mission, and various people who had sought it out under the misconception that it would allow them to bring loved ones back from the dead.

Damon Salvatore, the man who finally managed to gather the ingredients to create and release the plague, had been one such example.

What that man saw in Elena Gilbert she'd never know.

In any case, it was clear to her that Klaus was the latest vessel, and probably the most powerful the crown had possessed, and that she needed to find a way to bring him back.

The only account she'd been able to find where the vessel had lived was where another person had physically wrestled the crown from their head, which seemed ludicrous to her, since touching the crown made you want to put it on.

Klaus was incredibly powerful, and there was no chance anyone would get close enough to rip it away.

On the sixth day after Elijah told her she'd have a week, and she'd found nothing, and she was feeling discouraged.

"All I can find is that if you can get the crown off then he'll be back, but the problem is that whoever does that will immediately put it on, and no one significantly weaker than him could get close enough to do it," Caroline explained.

Elijah fiddled with the tumbler of bourbon in his hand, looking thoughtful. "What if we distracted him with something and managed to get it off his head without touching it?"

"Like what? He's not going to go after shiny objects."

"No, but perhaps he'd resist the mind control for someone."

She narrowed her eyes. "No, Elijah."

"Why not? He's in love with you."

"He was in love with me."

Elijah stared at her.

"What?" she asked defensively. "How am I supposed to know if creepy zombie lord Klaus still loves me?"

"Caroline..."

"Fine," she said. "But if I end up the next zombie queen by accident, you have to tell Klaus whose fault it is. How are we supposed to get it off his head without touching it, genius? And what will we do with it once it's off?"

"Don't forget with whom you speak," he said.

"Sorry, your majesty," she said with a winning smile, knowing that she didn't look the least bit apologetic.

He sighed. "I'm unsure of how we'll deal with the crown once it's off. In order for the risen to remain controlled and not run rampant they must have a king, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it, I suppose."

There was something in Elijah's eyes as he looked past her that gave Caroline a bad feeling, but she pushed it away, figuring that he was just considering possible candidates.

"You realize that this entire plan is based on the assumption that Klaus loves me enough that he can fight mind control, right? There is no magical precedent for that and it makes no sense. Don't you think that if he cared that much he would have fought it off already?"

"Caroline..."

"Sorry, am I ruining your overactive imagination with my logic?"

"Caroline."

"That's a serious question."

Elijah sighed. "Perhaps I'm putting too much stock into his feelings for you. However, I sincerely doubt it. I believe that it's the best option we have at the moment. We can do this, or we can kill him. There's no other choice."

Caroline pressed her lips together. In her opinion, there were lots of choices, but her leeway with Elijah only went so far.

"Fine," she said quietly. "But if it goes wrong, I blame you."

"Agreed. We'll depart in the morning for his rumoured location."

 **XXX**

"There are intruders, your Majesty."

Klaus glanced at the knight before him, a soul-less husk that had once been human, but was now a slave to the crown's telepathic powers, just as Klaus was. He'd stopped fighting what seemed like an eternity ago, the passage of time irrelevant as he watched the crown use his body as it pleased, the power that had once been his to control surging from his fingertips.

Instead, he desperately held on to his humanity, his sense of self. Though he was trapped inside of his own skin, he hadn't succumbed completely to the insanity the crown tried to force on him.

When he felt hopeless and helpless, felt his control slipping, the temptation to let the darkness claim him becoming almost too great to resist, he held on for her.

"Intruders?" he heard his mouth move to speak the word. "Where?"

"Just outside."

"Why did you not inform me earlier?" he asked, standing and walking to the knight.

"I just heard. They've been fighting their way through the castle for hours, killing all in their path."

Klaus settled back in his throne. "Let them come. Perhaps my army would benefit from some powerful additions."

"Very well, however you should know-" the knight began, before a loud crash sounded, the door to his throne room shattering, revealing Elijah and Caroline in the doorway, and Klaus felt his throat close.

Caroline...

He felt a surge of fear, desperation, his soul clawing at his skin, trying to regain control, to save her, but no matter how hard he pushed, the crown ruthlessly held him in place. His hand rose without his consent, the a jagged ball of ice escaping his palm to hurdle straight into Elijah's side, throwing him to the floor. His brother laid still, clearly knocked out.

There was a scream of agony, and he turned towards the burning body of the knight, the crown more amused than concerned as he watched his follower fall to the ground in ashes from Caroline's fire.

She turned to face him, swallowing as her eyes landed on his face.

They stared at each other for a moment, and he desperately clawed in the inside of his skin, needing to hold her, to comfort her and tell her that she was safe, that she'd be all right, but instead another ball of ice formed in his palm.

She took a sharp breath, and a ball of flame built in her palm as her eyes narrowed. The crown waved his arm, and with a single gesture bound her magic before she could release it, and the fire shrunk to a spark, which fizzled in the air, vanishing, and dropped the ball of ice to the ground, where it shattered with a loud crack.

Klaus watched helplessly from behind his own eyes as ice burst from the ground, winding around Caroline's body to hold her in place, circling like chains around her wrists. He walked to her, his footfalls heavy on the stone floor, reaching to cup her cheek.

A thin trail of frost coalesced against her skin as he brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, and he heard her breath hitch, her eyes wide with fear. "I can feel him, you know," the crown said. "He's struggling inside of me, trying to escape."

She was twisting inside of the bonds, her eyes shut tight from the intensity of the ice against her skin, and he watched as her palms sparked, unable to catch aflame.

"He has been since I took him as a vessel. It's quite exhausting, really. Your face flashes across my eyes when he clings to something to live for."

The crown was quiet for a few seconds, and the shared link told Klaus it was simply for dramatic effect. "Perhaps I need a new strategy to take his resolve away, hmm? How broken must a man be before he succumbs to the will of ancient magic? How long will you suffer at my hand before he gives in?"

"He won't," she said quietly, her voice raspy and full of hatred. "You can kill me and he'll fight."

Both Klaus and the spirit in the crown knew that she was lying.

"But you're so lovely," he whispered, looking down at her, and she shook from cold. "How could I kill you when it would be so much more devastating to let you live? To extract everything that he loves from you to leave an obedient soulless husk, a soldier for my cause..."

He could see the terror in Caroline's eyes as she looked at him, hear the slow rattle of her breathing as she moved closer to succumbing to the exhaustion of the cold, and she gasped his name out between chattering teeth as her eyes began to close.

Something in him snapped as she let out a rattled breath, a surge of long-lost resolve pulsing through him, and he felt his fists clench as he commanded them, the ice holding Caroline in place exploding into shards. He regained his wits long enough to pull the crown off and fling it across the room where it landed with a clatter, before turning back to Caroline, whose lips were turning blue, her face pale.

He waved a hand, unbinding her magic, and pulled her to him, holding her against him as she shivered. He turned to glance at Elijah, who was still knocked out on the floor but appeared to be breathing, before returning his attention to Caroline. "I..." she began through ragged breathing, but he shook his head.

"Shh, sweetheart. Just breathe, all right?"

Caroline nodded slowly, her chest rising and falling, and he watched as she slowly seemed to recover, golden light enveloping her once she was well enough to heal herself, and she sat up slowly before slumping against him, clearly exhausted. He held her, his nose buried in her hair as he tried to memorize her scent and the way she felt in his arms, her warmth pressed against his body, the soft skin of her cheek pressed against his neck.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," she said, pressing herself as close to him as possible, her voice muffled by how closely she pressed her lips to his neck, fingers curling into his robe. "I thought that the last thing I would ever say to you was that I didn't want to be with you anymore."

"I knew you didn't mean it," he said quietly.

"Then why did you tell me our engagement was off?" she asked, pulling back, and Klaus almost smiled at the familiar gleam of indignance in her eyes that he'd dearly missed.

"I wanted to protect you."

"You're an idiot," she said, though there was no bite in her tone, and she rested her forehead against his. "God, I missed you so much. I love you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart," he said, trying not to sound too impatient.

They would have time for melodramatic reunions later, and he intended to make sure that she didn't leave his presence for at least a week, to spend as much time as possible reminding her of what they'd had.

First, though, they needed to leave.

The wards would take time to dismantle, despite him having been the one to put them up, and he knew that for now he just needed to make sure the three of them stayed alive. He raised a hand to make ice rise from the ground, covering the doorway. Due to the crown's lack of a vessel, the zombies were now able to roam freely without anyone to control them, and he didn't want to chance them attacking while he was taking down the wards.

He heard a groan from nearby and looked to see Elijah stir, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Brother...?" he half-asked, looking at Klaus, and Klaus nodded, gesturing wordlessly to the crown on the other side of the room. "I'm glad that you're back," he said, sheathing his sword and walking over.

Caroline clambered to her feet, swaying slightly, and Klaus rushed to get up as well, sliding an arm around her waist to steady her, but she didn't seem satisfied with the amount of physical contact, instead nestling into his side, leaning against him.

"What are we going to do?" Caroline asked quietly, her breathing still slightly labored. "We have to find someone to wear it, or the zombies will just overrun the kingdom."

"You didn't have a plan?" Klaus asked, surprised, and Caroline shook her head.

"Well, I didn't at least. Elijah said he had one, but he didn't tell me."

"I do," he said, standing up and sheathing his sword. "I'll wear it."

"Are you out of your mind?" Caroline snapped as Elijah walked towards the crown, clearly having been given a bolt of adrenaline from the comment, considering the look on her face.

"I'd like to think not. The crown can only be worn safely by someone who is pure of heart."

"What, and you think you are?" Caroline asked, rolling her eyes.

"I've never hurt an innocent," Elijah said.

"We don't know if what it means is that you've never harmed an innocent! It could mean that you're a virgin or that you've never been in love or that you've never wished ill on anyone. It could be anything," she ranted, whirling around to face Klaus and giving him a wide eyed prompting look. "Don't you think this is a terrible idea?"

"Yes," he said, inwardly wincing as Caroline started to turn to Elijah, probably to say that he was outvoted. "...but it's the best one we've got, sweetheart."

She turned back to glare at him. "This won't work."

"You thought that you wouldn't be able to bring him back," Elijah said, raising an eyebrow, and Klaus frowned as Caroline rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked.

"Well, I've been researching breaking the curse for years, and then Elijah walked in with his last ditch 'he's in love with you, so just walk inside and he'll fight it' theory. I told him it wouldn't work, because the whole premise that love or feelings for someone would have anything to do with the stability of the mind control spell stemming from an enchanted talisman is ridiculous and has no basis in magical theory," she began grumpily, her words speeding up as she went along, her face growing more expressive with every second she spoke.

Klaus knew her well enough to know that she was gearing up for a rant, and he interrupted her before she could build up steam, turning to Elijah. "You let her walk in here while I was possessed by an ancient unpredictable magical object hoping that she'd be able to break the mind control because I loved her? Are you insane?"

"Clearly not, as it worked."

"It might not have," he snapped. "If she'd been hurt-"

"You would have burned the kingdom to the ground and murdered me slowly. Yes, Niklaus, I know. The point is that it did work."

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea," she said exasperatedly. "We're lucky a half-assed plan based on romantic clichés worked once. Purity of heart could mean anything, and sacrificing the king to test it out is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Even if it does work, are you going to rule the zombies and the kingdom at the same time? Do you even have a plan?"

"Niklaus can be king."

"These are all terrible plans. This is why I make the plans."

"Why couldn't I be king?" Klaus asked, unable to resist pushing her buttons. "I've already done it once. I think I'm better qualified than most other candidates."

He was rewarded by the absolutely incensed glare she sent him, the one that had made him fall in love with her in the first place, and he knew he must have looked like a love-struck fool because her expression morphed from anger to exasperation. "Mindless slaves don't count, and you're not helping me out here."

"Caroline, I'm an excellent candidate. If the crown doesn't work, I'm easily subdued," Elijah said calmly.

"That's bad, though. What if someone decides they want to be king of the zombies and comes to take it from you? You won't be able to fight back," Caroline pointed out.

"Tell everyone that I sacrificed myself to destroy the crown for the good of the kingdom and left you in charge," Elijah said, as though it were obvious.

"And you think they'll believe us?"

"They'll believe you, Caroline," Elijah said simply. "You've been nothing but loyal for years. All anyone knows is that Niklaus was mind controlled. They don't know how the crown works."

Caroline bit her lip, and Klaus could see that her resolve was cracking. He and Elijah remained silent as they waited for her to come to her own conclusion (as continuing to make their argument would just cause her to dig in her heels further), and she finally nodded.

"Fine. But if it doesn't work-"

"You can blame me," Elijah said, and there was a shadow of a smile on his face.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's just dismantle the wards first. You can't teleport, so if it goes badly we can get out and keep you inside. Sound good?"

Elijah nodded, and Klaus shared a long look with her before he began the process to tear the wards down, Caroline watching with fascination as the layers of magic became visible before bursting with small sparks as the barriers vanished.

Once they were done, Elijah walked toward the crown confidently, picking it up and setting it on his head.

Klaus watched in fascination as his brother seemed to freeze, his eyes closing before opening again, his irises glowing bright red. "I believe that I'm in control," he said slowly.

He heard Caroline take a deep shaky breath before letting it out slowly. "Be safe, Elijah."

"And you," he said, inclining his head. "Your Majesty."

 **XXX**

They'd come back to the castle expecting a fight for the throne, and they weren't disappointed. The naysayers were dealt with swiftly and fairly, and the two of them soon took control. Caroline had been right, as she usually was, when she said that ruling a kingdom would be a lot of work rather than entertainment. It was hard, but over time the kingdom found peace.

Still, he'd been right as well. There was no other woman better suited to be queen.

* * *

Please let me know what you thought! I'd love feedback on this, since I'm kind of nervous about it. Any parts you especially liked? Moments you thought worked (or didn't)? Dialogue? I'd love to hear your thoughts :D


	22. Siren Song

Summary: Siren!Caroline keeps accidentally enthralling her roommate (Klaus) when she sings in the shower.

I have been adding song lyrics to the top for funsies, and my music taste is undeniably questionable, haha. None of these are songfics unless noted otherwise :P

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 _You light me up inside like the 4th of July_  
 _Whenever you're around I always seem to smile_  
 _And people ask me how  
well you're the reason why_  
 _I'm dancing in the mirror and singing in the shower  
~ "Shower" by Becky G_

* * *

"You don't eat people, right?" _  
_

Caroline resisted rolling her eyes for the fifth time that day, trying to convince herself that this wouldn't be the worst school year ever.

She was on her third interview for a new roommate, and none of them were cutting it. Elena had moved out to live with her boyfriends, and Caroline wasn't judging her on the whole polyamory-with-brothers thing. However, she _was_ judging for forcing her to find another roommate on short notice.

Sure, Elena hadn't actually been _living_ at the apartment for months, but having a roommate that didn't live with her and paid rent was a dream come true, and it was sad that she'd have to learn to live with someone again.

"No. I don't eat people. Homer had a siren girlfriend who cheated on him, so he demonized her in his poem. Writer types. You know."

"Right," the other girl said slowly. "So, you're like, safe?"

The "If I wasn't, would I tell you?" was on the tip of her tongue, but she repressed it, instead pasting on her best smile. "Yep! Completely a hundred percent safe, I promise. So, what's your schedule like? Are you an early riser?"

She tried her best to listen to the other girl's answers to her questions, but she felt like it was a bust already. When she escorted her out and shut the door, she leaned against it and swore softly.

She had one more interview that day, and all she could do was hope this guy didn't ask dumb questions.

An hour later, it was clear that Klaus Mikaelson wasn't all that concerned about the whole siren thing, and he moved in a week later, just before the start of the fall semester.

 **XXX**

The first time was a total accident.

She'd been able to belt out the Top 100 while she washed her hair quite peacefully for the last two years. She was just getting her Katy Perry on when there was a loud knock on the bathroom door. She quickly turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. Wrenching the door open, she prepared to tell her new roommate that she was _clearly_ using the bathroom and he was most definitely unwelcome. That plan left her mind when she saw the vacant look in his eyes.

She bit her lip, inwardly swearing while she waited for him to come back to himself (and she might have let her eyes slide down his toned abs above the waistband of his pajama pants). Her heart skipped a beat in her chest as she considered the consequences of having a roommate that could be affected by her thrall, and decided that she'd let it run its course for now. Once he looked conscious enough, she winced, looking at him, and settled for a weak, "Oops."

"As lovely as your voice is, sweetheart, I'm going to have to request that you keep it down, or at least wait until I'm out of the apartment."

Once he stopped talking, he seemed to finally notice that she was clad in only a tiny towel, and her breath caught as she watched his eyes follow a bead of water dripping down the valley between her breasts. She flushed at the look of desire in his eyes, the way she heard his breath catch, and though his ogling probably should have made her annoyed, instead it made her feel hot. Desired. Wanted.

"Don't worry, I'll keep it down, sorry!" she squeaked, slamming the door shut and leaning against it as she clutched the towel to her chest, her heart pounding. Klaus being enthralled by her song when she wasn't consciously trying was an interesting development, to say the least. Her mind raced as she considered the implications of it, her teeth sinking into her lower lip.

"See that you do," he said through the door.

She couldn't look him in the eye for two days.

 **XXX**

The next incident was totally not her fault.

Klaus had told her that he was going home for the weekend (i.e. across the ocean). She'd mentally prepped herself for a bra-less, relaxing weekend of baking, Dancing With the Stars, and belting showtunes in the shower without a worry of enthralling her roommate.

She got through three batches of brownies (her European History class was having a 'Presentation Potluck' which was code for 'Help us get through all your half-assed powerpoints by providing baked goods'), and she decided to take a break and shower before she took them off the rack.

She was halfway through the latest radio hit when she heard a knock on the door again.

Bonnie was the only one with the spare key (but she'd taken a semester to do an independent study about supernatural archaeology or something), and since Klaus was literally across the ocean, that left two options: Psycho-style serial killer, or her landlord.

Deciding that the potential serial killer/landlord could at least wait until she was finished conditioning, she continued to sing to herself as she rinsed her hair, growling as the knocks grew progressively louder.

"Just a second!" she yelled, turning off the shower and grabbing her cotton robe. When she opened it, she grimaced when she saw Klaus's blank face again, half a brownie in his hand and a smear of chocolate just above his lip that she suddenly really wanted to taste.

She shook herself, deciding that if he was going to steal a brownie without asking, it served him right to be caught in her thrall mid-bite.

"You're back," she said awkwardly, eyeing his mussed hair, stubble, and wrinkled clothes. It wasn't fair that he looked so hot when he'd clearly just gotten off a plane.

He blinked a few times before grimacing, running a hand through his hair. "I am. Apologies, I should have texted you," he said, giving her a boyish, dimpled grin. "You're free to make it up to me via baked goods, however."

She scoffed. "In your dreams, buddy. Maybe you should consider investing in some noise cancelling headphones."

"Perhaps," he said, a small smirk on his face, and she shut the door in his face without responding, shedding her robe and starting the shower again.

 **XXX**

Okay, so the third time was completely on purpose, but it was his turn to do the dishes, and they were running out of clean ones. She'd brought it up a few days before, and he'd nodded, brushing it off, and had been avoiding her ever since.

She'd tried to track him down and had totally failed, so she had to find another way. Caroline prided herself on being an out-of-the-box thinker, and she sat on the kitchen counter waiting for the door to open and shut before she started to sing. She heard slow footsteps turn around the corner, and she beckoned Klaus over, smirking.

His eyes were dark and slightly vacant, and she did feel a teeny bit bad, but he was the one who should have done the dishes, okay?

She hopped off the counter as he got closer, and looked up at him through her lashes as he approached. She gently steered him to face the sink, and pressed her front against his back, her hand lingering on his firm bicep as she stopped her song (and she might have squeezedit _completely_ by accident). He froze for a few moments before slowly seeming to come back to himself, and she stood on her toes, knowing her breath was hot on his ear, feeling the shiver run down his spine as he felt her body against his back.

"Next time, please consult the chore wheel conveniently located on the fridge."

She let go of him, unable to fight down the smirk at the dark-eyed gaze he sent her way, and she winked, turning and sauntering away, unable to resist adding an exaggerated swing of her hips.

 **XXX**

She was humming to herself absently as she took a batch of cupcakes out of the oven, and she felt Klaus's presence behind her as she set the rack carefully on the counter, easing off her oven mitts.

"Everything okay?" she asked, turning around, and she let out a soft 'oof' when he wrapped his hand around her wrist, tugging her to him, his hand splayed across her lower back. They were nose to nose, his eyes staring into hers, and she felt uncomfortably vulnerable.

"I googled sirens."

"Yeah?" she asked, a feeling of foreboding building inside of her, and he nodded, letting her smoothly take a step away from him.

"I've discovered a few things about your song that you've neglected to tell me, sweetheart, so I have a few questions."

"Go ahead," she said tiredly, resigning herself to the conversation and hopping to sit on the kitchen counter.

"Your song only works on people who you're attracted to. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"So you're attracted to me?"

"Do you own a mirror?" she asked, not bothering to dodge the question.

He grinned, looking a bit too smug for her taste, and he took a few steps towards her, his hands landing on the counter on either side of her hips. "Is that all, Caroline? Just my looks?"

She remained silent, not wanting to admit that he was smart, made her laugh, was willing to debate with her, and that he treated her like an equal, unlike the disdain she occasionally got from other people when they found out. He made her feel comfortable in a situation that could have turned out horribly for her.

He seemed to read it all in her expression though as they locked eyes, and he leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. "Is that a no?"

"Maybe," she muttered, not sure whether she'd kiss him or push him away if his lips came just a centimeter closer.

"Well, I must say that I was delighted to find out that little tidbit of information," he said, his breath sweet on her face, and she resisted the urge to wet her lips with her tongue, lest they catch his as well. "I was worried that I didn't have a chance, you see."

"Oh," she said, not sure how to respond, the scent of him cloaking her in a way that made her heart beat faster, her fingers itching to clutch his shirt and pull his lips to hers.

"May I take you to dinner, Caroline? Perhaps tomorrow night?" he asked quietly, and she tensed, her eyes searching his for even just a hint of insincerity.

She nodded slowly, and he gave her a wicked, dimpled grin.

"It's a date, then."

He pulled back and walked away, his hands stuck in his pockets, and the cool air pressing around her did nothing to calm the heat prickling under her skin. She smiled slowly, her heart fluttering in a way it hadn't since she was a young teenager, the giddy feeling of a requited crush surging through her.

It looked like it was going to be a good year after all.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you thought. Favorite part? Favorite line? Anything that could be improved? :D


	23. Walking on Eggshells

Summary: Klaus eggs Caroline's house on a dare. When Liz catches him, he pretends that he's egging the house because he andCaroline dated and she broke up with him, which is all well and good until she interrupts.

Thank you candycolamorgan for helping me make this readable.

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"This is a terrible idea," Rebekah hissed from the backseat as Klaus parked two blocks away from the address Kol had written down.

"I know, but Kol promised me his pocket money for a month, and the brand of pencils I use for sketching is expensive," Klaus said calmly, grabbing the plastic grocery bag from the front seat and handing his younger sister his keys. "I'll walk home."

Rebekah shrugged, taking the keys and walking out to sit in the driver's seat, and Klaus walked towards the house. He swallowed when he saw the police cruiser in the driveway, inwardly groaning when he realized that Kol had picked the Sheriff's house to egg. He'd never met the Sheriff. The town was small, but they'd only moved in two years before, and Klaus mostly kept to himself. Hopefully, he'd go home still never having met them.

He weighed the first egg in his hand for a moment, knowing that backing out now would result in Kol giving him shit for the rest of their lives, but did he really want to risk getting in trouble?

The first egg hit the wall with a crack.

The next six hit the walls in various places, the liquid dripping down the paint, and he was about to throw egg number eight when he heard the click of boots behind him.

"What are you doing to my house?"

Klaus slowly turned around to see a woman who was clearly the Sheriff, her arms crossed over her chest, a furious glint in her eye. She snatched the box of eggs from Klaus's hands, holding her palm out for the one in his hand, and he gave it to her, wincing. "I..."

She was familiar from somewhere, and he struggled to remember where, keeping his mouth determinedly shut as he desperately tried to figure out where he'd seen her.

"I'll answer for you, since you seem to be speechless. You were egging my house. Probably alone. I'd like to know why. Now."

He'd seen that stance before, the same angry glint in the eyes of a girl who had been his partner in Saltzman's class for a history project. A vague plan formed in his mind, the words spilled out of his mouth before he was able to filter them.

"I dated Caroline."

"Excuse me?"

"I...dated Caroline. We broke up last week," he invented.

"And you're egging my house...why?"

"She-"

"Mom? Is everything okay?"

Klaus prayed for patience as he turned to see Caroline on the doorstep, her brow furrowed, tiny cotton pajamas hugging her body the way they did in his not at _all_ daily fantasies (before he pulled them off). She was beautiful, her hair catching the porch light just perfectly, full lips pursed, her brow furrowed, and his fingers itched to grab a sketchbook.

"This gentleman was just telling me how you dated, broke up last week, and as a result he's egging the house," the Sheriff said, her voice harsh.

Klaus gave her a wide-eyed imploring 'help me' look, and she looked torn for a moment before her eyes hardened and she marched over, her fists clenched.

"You were the one who broke up with me," she hissed, her eyes narrowed as she poked him in the chest. "I knew you were dramatic, but don't you think egging my house is a little ridiculous?"

Klaus felt a rush of stress leave him when she started playing along. "Not at all, considering what you did."

"I told you. I didn't mean to hurt you," she said, and he caught a quick flash of vulnerability in her eyes before they hardened again. "This isn't okay, Klaus."

"Saying that you didn't mean it doesn't prove anything, sweetheart. It just means you're watching your own arse."

"You didn't seem to mind watching Aurora's ass a few weeks ago," she said, lips pursed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

She was _good_. If he hadn't known that this was all an act he would have thought she was actually jealous.

"She means nothing to me," he said, his teeth gritted.

It was the truth, too.

He'd nursed very strong feelings for Caroline before he overheard her saying some rather viciously unkind things about him to her best friend. He'd abruptly stopped talking to her, and after the first hurt look she shot him when he completely ignored her, she seemed to decide that ignoring him back was the best solution.

He might still have the occasional thought about her every few weeks or days or hours, and despite his best efforts, what she'd said still hurt. He couldn't quite seem to get over her.

He recalled the party at Tyler Lockwood's house just after he'd stopped talking to Caroline. Aurora De Martel had certainly been coming onto him, and it was only due to her being completely intoxicated that he didn't drag her into a spare room to have a temporary escape from his feelings for Caroline. Instead, he'd escorted her and her brother Tristan to his car and drove them home, knowing he'd be able to extort some new art supplies from Tristan if he did him a favor.

"Oh yeah? I saw you leave with her."

"And her brother. I drove them home. They were both too drunk to-"

Caroline raised an eyebrow, nodding at her mom, and Klaus froze, closing his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. "We were practicing safe behavior," he said with a fake smile, turning to the Sheriff.

"Oh, do continue. I was enjoying watching you dig yourself a deeper and deeper hole."

"Either way, you've been being weird for the entire week. And okay, _maybe_ I shouldn't have..." Caroline started, but Klaus interrupted.

"Maybe?"

"Hey, don't paint me as the villain here, Klaus. I hate the silent treatment more than anything, which you know, and you completely iced me out. Do you understand how it felt trying to talk to someone who I thought loved me and have them just walk away without saying anything? I'll give you a hint, since I've never done that to you. It's horrible."

There was a pause where Klaus didn't quite know what to say, but he saw the barest hint of a raised eyebrow on Caroline's face. A challenge in her eyes. His jaw set as he realized that Caroline was using this as an opportunity to tear him down for ignoring her where he couldn't escape, and he felt heat build inside of him, his fists clenching.

"Well, perhaps next time you should watch what you say about me, at least when I'm in earshot."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You just said that you didn't mean to hurt me, so it would logically follow that you do know," he said gruffly.

"I don't know what I did, but it's clear that I hurt you somehow, and I'm sorry for whatever it was," she said tightly.

"What you said to the Gilbert girl the week after we finished our project," he snapped.

It was getting dark, but he could still see that she was paling. "Oh my god, you heard that?"

He could hear the shakiness in her voice, could tell that she was close to tearing up, and he couldn't figure out why. It was clear that she didn't care about him, didn't like him even, so why would she be upset?

"Obviously."

"That's not...I didn't mean..."

"I don't know how else you could interpret it," he said through gritted teeth, and she sniffled, making every 'a woman is crying; leave immediately' alarm bell go off in his body.

"Look, it was stupid, okay? I shouldn't have said it. She was just being really awful to me about you and I was trying to get her off my back," she said, and he could tell that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"That's not an excuse."

"I know," she said, and he was uncomfortable at the sudden turn of events, at how they'd gone from faking a break up to making up from a real one, and he felt oddly vulnerable. "I know it's not, and I'm really sorry. Please don't hate me. Oh my god, you totally hate me."

He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets and holding her gaze with an almost challenging stare, and she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, her hand shaking.

"Look, I'm really, _really_ sorry."

"You said that," he said gruffly.

"Look, I..." she trailed off, looking at her mom and biting her lip. "Can you give us a minute, Mom?"

"I need you to be back inside of our egg-less house by ten," Liz said, and Caroline nodded quickly, turning back to face him as her mother walked away.

He suppressed a flinch when Caroline grabbed his hand again, her eyes wide, teeth worrying her lower lip in a way that made him want to taste her. "I shouldn't have said it," she repeated. "I'm sorry. She was just..."

"I heard you the first time, Caroline."

"Let me finish," she said irritably, her mouth closing with a click when she saw his face, and she took a deep breath. "Look, there isn't really an excuse for what I said, and I'm sorry that I said it. You're smart and funny and nice when you actually decide to be, and I like you a lot," she said, rambling slightly, twisting her hands together. "I shouldn't have let Elena get to me. She was warning me not to ask you out because Kat called dibs, and you know how Kat is, she would have the entire school calling me a slut by third period. I just didn't want to deal with it. So, I pretended that I didn't like you, and obviously you heard, and I'm really sorry."

"You wanted to ask me out?"

"Yeah. I just said that," she said, and her voice trembled as she looked at him, her nervousness clear in every movement, every fidget of her fingers against the hem of her pajama shirt.

He pressed his lips together. It clearly wasn't a trick, and it did seem like she hadn't meant to hurt him, but he didn't like the idea of her talking about him to her friends like that.

"All right."

"All right like you understood the words, or all right like you'll go out with me?"

"The latter, though I'd prefer that any doubts you have about my morals or character be brought to me directly," he said, meaning it as a joke despite the note of genuine sarcasm that broke through, and she flushed.

"I guess I deserved that. Yeah, I'll definitely let you know if you do something particularly awful. I do like you though, Klaus. A lot."

"I'm quite fond of you as well, obviously," he said, and she gave him a shy smile. "So, Friday, then? Providing, of course, that your mother doesn't murder me for this mess," he said, gesturing to the house. "It's a pity. I was supposed to use the entire carton of eggs, and I doubt Kol will fulfill his end of the deal if I don't."

"This was a bet?" she asked, frowning, trying to pull her hand away, but Klaus held fast.

"To egg the sheriff's house, not anything to do with you," he said hastily.

"Okay," she said, nodding once and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, suddenly looking a lot more like her usual self. "I'll help you clean up. Let me just put on some regular clothes."

The thought that having Caroline help would make it go faster flitted through his mind (and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible). And he tugged her back to him as she started to walk away, only meaning to make her stop, but she stumbled into his arms, falling against his chest. She put her palms against him to steady herself, and his breath caught.

She was so close, her eyes wide, lips slightly parted, the strap of her tank top drooping off of her shoulder, and when she blinked he noticed a stray eyelash on her cheek. The air seemed to still around them as they stared at each other. Her eyes dropped to his lips before she glanced at him again.

He bent slightly, and that seemed to be all the prompting she needed to stand on her toes and press her lips against his, her arms looping around his neck as his settled on her waist. She tasted better than he'd ever imagined, and the small gasp she took when they broke apart made him grin.

"Or you can just keep me company," he suggested quietly, and she gave him a shy smile, disentangling herself from him.

"Okay. Sounds like a plan. Let me get the cleaning stuff from inside the house."

They talked for the next hour as Klaus cleaned up the egg much too slowly, but if Caroline noticed she didn't say anything. Afterwards, she took the extra eggs, explaining that she and her mom almost never went grocery shopping, and kissed him quickly before shutting the door, though not fast enough for him to miss the flush creeping up her cheeks.

He was still grinning when got home, and it took awhile to convince Kol that he'd _actually_ egged the house. Luckily, Rebekah had apparently stuck around until Klaus had gotten through the first few eggs (and left before anything happened) and backed up his story.

Klaus sketched Caroline under the porchlight with his new pencils.

* * *

Let me know what you thought. I know Klaus was kind of OOC but it was a high school AU prompt, so I hope it at least sort-of worked?


	24. Good Morning, Elena

Summary: Klaus and Caroline are together but keeping it a secret. A spell causes Elena and Caroline to switch bodies and Elena wakes up with Klaus and finds out.

* * *

Klaus cracked an eye open as he felt Caroline burrow closer to him, her legs tangling with his. It wasn't that the contact was unwelcome, but she tended to drape herself directly on top of him with her cheek pressed to his shoulder, her limbs spread out across the bed.

He never minded. Having Caroline's skin against his, the weight of her on top of him, was the most comfortable he'd ever been. Her sweet-smelling hair, the way her lashes brushed against his skin when her eyes moved while she was dreaming...

He trailed a hand up and down her spine, stroking her skin as she slowly started to wake, and her eyes flew open when the alarm clock sounded.

She scrambled to turn it off, and Klaus winced as she slammed it too hard, the device cracking down the middle.

"You all right, sweetheart?"

Caroline froze, turning around slowly, her eyes wide in a deer-in-headlights stare he'd never seen on her face. "Why are you in my bed?"

"This is my bed," he said, his eyes narrowing, and Caroline looked around frantically.

"Why am I in your bed? Did you kidnap me? What is going on? Eww, I'm naked. Oh my god, you're naked."

Klaus blinked slowly watching Caroline work herself into a state, though something about her movements, about the way she was talking made him feel like there was something off.

"Caroline," he said slowly, and Caroline's head snapped up, her eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about? Where's Caroline? What did you do to her?"

Klaus just stared at her, his mind racing, and Not Caroline reached to run her fingers through her hair and froze when she touched it, her eyes widening. She turned around to face the mirror, her mouth dropping open. "Oh my god. I'm in Caroline's body."

"That appears to be the case, yes," Klaus said impatiently. "May I ask who you are?"

"What? Oh, I'm Elena," she said, and Klaus was faintly impressed by how much hate Caroline could hold in her eyes when the feeling was actually genuine. "Where's Caroline?"

"I'd assume that she's in your body," he said dryly. "Where did you fall asleep?"

"My bed, like normal people. What was she doing in here, anyway? Did you kidnap her?"

He ignored the girl's pointless questions, simply pushing the covers off and ignoring Elena's strangled sound of disgust as she clapped her hands over her eyes.

"Ew!"

Klaus didn't bother to respond, knowing that the faint flush he liked coaxing into Caroline's cheeks was erupting because Elena most likely thought he was the farthest from 'ew' possible, and he pulled on a pair of jeans and a henley, throwing a balled up robe at Elena before he left. "Stay here."

"What? No I'm coming with you! I need to protect her."

He whirled around, grabbing the girl and pulling her back into the bedroom. "Let me make something clear to you. I am not the Salvatore brothers. I do not respect your supposed right to make your own decisions, nor do I think that the sun shines out of your arsehole. You do more harm than good when you try to "rescue" Caroline, and I'm going to have to ask you to sit here until I get back. If you cannot manage to follow those simple instructions, and from the look of petulant stubbornness currently evident in your expression, that's most likely the case, I will snap your neck and put you in a cell in my basement."

"I'll find a way to go with y-" Elena started, and Klaus rolled his eyes and snapped her neck, wincing as Caroline's lifeless form fell into his arms.

He went to the closet and redressed her in some cotton pyjama shorts and one of his shirts (knowing it was slightly petty to want Elena to have to inhale his scent on her friend while she was waiting, but not particularly caring) so that she wouldn't get discovered without clothes on before picking her up and cradling her in his chest, carrying her to the basement. He set her on the ground gently, locking the metal door behind him, and set off for the Gilbert girl's house.

He sped over quickly, not bothering to be subtle, knowing that the longer he took to get there the more time he'd have to consider all of the terrible things that could have possibly happened to her.

He hit the door once with his fist to open it and walked up the stairs, finding Elena's room quickly. He smiled slightly when he saw her. She was spread eagle on the bed, her face buried into her pillow, and he walked over to run his fingers through her hair, smiling slightly when she opened her eyes blearily.

"Morning," she said before frowning. "What's wrong with my voice?"

"You and the Gilbert girl seem to have had a bit of an accident."

"An accident?"

"You've switched bodies," Klaus said bluntly. "She was quite distressed when she woke this morning, as you might imagine, but I have her locked in the basement."

Caroline groaned, burying her face in the pillow, and Klaus grinned when he caught her muffled words. "This is a nightmare, right?"

"Afraid not, sweetheart."

"Ugh, this is the worst," she grumbled, pushing herself to sit up. "She's going to hate me."

Klaus decided not to comment, thinking that his opinion on the subject ('fuck Elena and the unicorn she rode in on') would not be welcome, instead pulling out his phone to call a witch he knew in the area. As he told the witch on the other end of the line what was wrong, he watched Caroline pace, her brow furrowed as she muttered different possible versions of the "I'm in love with Klaus" speech she'd been putting off giving for awhile now.

He hung up after the witch had promised to come over within the next few hours, and Caroline looked up, biting her lip and tucking her hair behind her ear in such a Caroline-like gesture that he found himself grinning.

"Let's go back home and I'll talk to her," Caroline said, wrinkling her nose as she sifted through Elena's dresser to find something to wear, and he tried to hide his smirk as he looked away. She turned around when she had located some jeans and a shirt and frowned at him.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing, sweetheart."

She gave him a suspicious look and motioned for him to turn around as she changed, and he did as she asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and ducking his head.

She'd said 'home'.

* * *

Let me know what you thought! Favorite part? Line? Constructive criticism? I hope you liked it :)


	25. Come Back to Me

Summary: Caroline's mom insulted Poseidon, and she's offered as a sacrifice to appease the monster he sent to terrorize their town. Luckily, her irritating betrothed returned from war in the nick of time to confront the monster before she's sacrificed. Loosely inspired by the story of Andromeda from Greek Mythology.

* * *

"Caroline, you have to wake up."

Caroline stirred, blinking a few times as she came to, frowning when she saw her father bending over her, looking distraught. "What?" she asked, her throat dry as she sat up and stretched.

Sleep had been scarce for the last few days, and she wanted to enjoy it while she could. After her mother had spoken ill of a child of Poseidon, there had been a sea monster ravaging their city.

The citizens were hiding in their homes, the ones by the coast fleeing to be hosted by friends and family in the center of the island, and most people were terrified to wander too close to the beach. Her father had gone to see the oracle that morning, kissing her on the forehead and making her promise to be safe.

She'd brushed him off, saying that she'd stay inside, and had fallen asleep waiting up for him to come back. It was hard for her to watch him walk out to try to atone for her mother's stupidity, and she hoped the oracle wouldn't tell him anything too terrible.

By the look on his face though, she was out of luck.

"I need you to get up and get ready to go," he said, and she frowned, sitting up.

"What? Why?"

"I need to get you to a boat to the mainland before our neighbors find out what the oracle said."

"What did the oracle say?" she asked impatiently, walking to the chest in the corner of her room and pulling out a dress, laying it out on her bed as she turned to look at her father expectantly.

"That in order to atone for your mother's stupidity, you must be sacrificed."

Caroline looked up to meet her father's eyes, her head tilted to the side, frowning. "To be eaten by the monster?"

"In theory. I do hope that by the time word spreads to the town about the oracle's solution you'll be on your way to the mainland."

"And how do you expect to to get me to the mainland with a giant sea monster in the ocean?"

He faltered, running a hand through his hair. "It's the only plan that I can think of that might work."

Caroline bit her lip, feeling her heart drop to her stomach. "But if I run away, won't the village be in danger?"

"We'll kill it. We'll find a way," Bill said, reaching to smooth her hair, honesty in his eyes, and she let him gather her in his arms.

"What were the oracle's exact words?"

"That in order to appease the monster, we must tie you to a rock by the harbor and leave you to your fate."

She nodded, her mind racing as she considered the sentence. The oracles could see the future, but tended to be frustratingly vague, their words always holding a number of double meanings, and it was sometimes difficult to see the way out of the problem they presented. "Maybe you should," she said, looking at her nervously, a plan hatching in her mind. "I...If this will save the village, I don't know if I could live with myself if I didn't go through with it. I can't let my friends die because I was too afraid to go through with it."

"Are you sure?" Bill asked. "Alaric said he'd accompany you."

She inwardly winced. She honestly would probably rather die, in that case. "I'm sure," she said.

Once her father believed that it had become clear that her betrothed wasn't returning from war, he'd promised her to his friend, a man twice her age, without a thought of her wishes. His justification had been that Alaric was a 'good man' (something she had yet to see any evidence of), and she resented him for it.

She still had hope that Klaus would come back alive and unharmed. She hadn't liked him much at first, finding him too arrogant and more than a bit entitled, but after awhile she secretly looked forward to their banter, though she tried not to let it show, lest she encourage bad behavior. She wasn't happy when he'd gone to war, had been unable to stop herself from being worried for him, but was perfectly fine with waiting to marry until he returned.

It had been over a year since Klaus had left now, though, and she was losing hope. She had been desperately putting off the wedding to Alaric in any way she could, unable to stomach the thought of sharing a bed with a drunk who spoke to her like she was a particularly pretty pet.

Her father could easily make her go on the boat. He adored her and genuinely wanted what he believed to be best for her, and she had no doubt that if the entire town wasn't at stake, she would already be on her way.

However, he seemed to see sense to what she was saying, however reluctantly, and she was slightly relieved when he nodded. "At dawn, then."

"At dawn," she agreed. "I'd like to spend my last few hours to myself, please."

Bill nodded and left, and she got to work immediately, fashioning a rough jagged knife, hoping to cut through the rope they would tie her with.

After all, the Oracle said she had to be tied and left to her fate, and she was determined to make sure that her fate was escaping before she got eaten.

 **XXX**

Klaus sighed as he sheathed his sword and took in the carnage around him. Being one of Ares' favorite sons wasn't exactly a hardship, especially when his birth father looked upon him kindly in battle.

He'd lost count of the number of days since he'd left his village, though he knew it had been long enough that much of what he'd left behind was most likely in ruins. He'd been focusing on winning the war so that he could return as soon as possible, rather than mourning the time he'd lost. By this point, he honestly felt like he'd gone above and beyond his civic duty, and he was quite ready to return to his family and his betrothed.

Well, he wouldn't mind if his adoptive father had dropped dead in his absence (in fact, he'd prayed quite frequently for it to happen), but that was beside the point.

He turned to the only other survivor of the battle, and Stefan nodded once, breathing heavily, sheathing his sword as well. "Any chance you know how to steer a ship?" he asked, and Klaus snorted, picking up the head of the gorgon he'd just slain, carefully facing it away from him.

They'd been on their way back to the island when they were attacked, and from the captain's estimation they were only a few hours away from the port. Klaus knew the general direction, and he desperately hoped his father was willing to help him out in this last obstacle before he could arrive.

He had been less than a week from the first night of the three-day ceremony for his wedding to Caroline when he'd left, and he was determined to return to her (whether she wanted him there or not). He'd set his sights on her from the moment she hissed some rather unkind words to him when he propositioned her, which was just over a year before her father agreed to the match. He wasn't used to that; a woman who was apparently immune to his good looks and didn't seem to care even one bit that he was the son of a god was a foreign concept, and over time he'd started to wear her down.

After his directness didn't work, he attempted gift-giving (not received well), charming compliments (she didn't find them as charming as he'd hoped), and making the point that if they were to be married, she should at least try to get to know him.

"If you pay attention to someone other than yourself for once, I'll consider it," she'd said.

Her response was still stuck in his mind, the memory of how her brow furrowed as she gave him an exasperated look at his stunned expression. "What, has no one ever told you how self-centered you are before?"

"Not that I can recall."

"Maybe if you listened to something other than the sound of your own voice, you might have noticed," she said irritably before flouncing off.

He wondered if she'd realized that she'd given him the key to her heart there and then, and after that he'd made an effort to talk to her about herself. He thought she was just warming up to him when he was told he was going to war.

When he'd asked for a goodbye kiss, her lip had curled and she told him that she hoped his inevitable death was quick and painless.

He considered it an improvement from "slow and painful".

They sailed for a few hours, and Klaus was just becoming restless, wondering if he'd gone in the wrong direction. Just before dawn, he saw an island in the distance. He and Stefan steered towards it, and they were nearing the docks when he saw an odd disturbance in the water, as though a creature was resting there. Wary of the implications, he and Stefan stared at each other, and he jerked his head at the dock.

They managed to make it to the village without incident, and Klaus was surprised when they saw Caroline's father glumly walking alone.

He looked up when Klaus cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hello," he said slowly.

"We've just returned," Stefan said quickly. "Has much changed in our-"

"How is Caroline?" Klaus interrupted, and Stefan shot him an exasperated look.

"Not well," Bill said slowly.

"What? Is she sick? Hurt?"

"Tied to a rock and about to be sacrificed," Bill said, and Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"Beg pardon?"

"Her mother...wasn't tactful with a child of Poseidon, and the village has been under attack by a monstrous creature since then. The oracle told us that if we tied Caroline to a rock and sacrificed her to the beast, the monster would-"

"Where is she?" Klaus snapped, and Bill frowned.

"You can't rescue her. She must be sacrificed for the prophecy to come true."

"Answer me," Klaus said, drawing his sword. "If Caroline dies there will be no one to blame me for your slow and painful death."

Bill wordlessly pointed in the direction of a cliff that Klaus had spent a lot of time on as a child, the view perfect for sketching, and he set off, the gorgon's head heavy in his satchel. He hoped that the petrifying gaze would still work with Medusa dead, as that was his best plan, and when he arrived, he saw the ropes cut through.

He was about to panic when he saw Caroline tip-toeing towards the nearby forest.

"Caroline?" he called, and she whirled around, her eyes wide.

"Be quiet!" she hissed. "The point of sneaking away is so that thing doesn't hear me."

He saw the moment when she realized who she was speaking to, her eyes going wide, lips parting slightly in surprise. "When did you get back?"

"Just a few moments ago. I met your father on the way here. He told me, and I came to save you."

"How romantic," she teased, amusement coloring her tone.

He was vaguely surprised by her complete reversal on how she treated him, but he wasn't about to object. Still, something felt off...

She seemed to guess what was going through his mind, and she smiled a bit self-consciously. "I had just realized that you weren't all that terrible right before you left, and I kind of just reacted. I wanted to convince myself that I wouldn't be sad if you didn't come back." She reached to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, avoiding his eyes, and Klaus smirked.

"So you missed me?"

"Surprisingly, yes," she said with a small smile. "It was a little weird to go through my day without getting pestered."

"So you didn't mind the pestering as much as you pretended?" he asked teasingly, and she flushed.

"Maybe."

"Good to know. I'll keep it in mind."

"Don't do it too much or I might go back to hating you."

"You never hated me," he said confidently, and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I never _hated_ you, but you were rude, and I didn't exactly like you for awhile," she said, her fingers winding in the fabric of her dress. "But you got better. Sort of. I'm glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back."

Her head snapped to something behind him, wide with fear, and he turned around to see a large yellow-eyed, snarling monster emerge from the water, water dripping down its shiny purple scales, large fangs bared, and Klaus reached for the satchel around his waist. "Close your eyes, love."

"What?"

"Do it," he said, and he hoped that she had listened when he pulled Medusa's head out of his satchel and aimed it at the sea monster. He cautiously opened one eye to see the monster's body slowly turning into stone, toppling over into the sea, making water spray onto them.

He put the head back in his satchel and turned around. "You can look."

She blinked, looking at the water. "Did you kill it?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I fought a gorgon. When you look in her eyes you turn to stone. I figured it would most likely be useful, so I cut it off."

"That's disgusting," Caroline said, wrinkling her nose. "How long has she been dead?"

"Two days."

"You need to throw it out," she said firmly. "It's going to start decomposing and it'll make our house smell horrible."

"Our house?"

"My father was going to marry me off to Alaric. It was a close thing," she said, and Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"Alaric?"

"I know! He's more disgusting than that rotting head," Caroline complained. "Actually, I guess he technically still could, but you were first, so you could challenge him to a fight, and I doubt he's enough of an idiot to agree to agree to that."

"I almost wish he would," Klaus said quietly, reaching to stroke her cheek, and she seemed to lean into his touch instinctively. "He had the nerve to touch what's mine."

She scoffed, jerking away from him. "Men," she muttered scornfully, and Klaus had to fight down a smile.

"Do you deny it, Caroline?"

"I just finally started like you. Don't push it," she said, an eyebrow raised, and Klaus raised his hands in surrender.

"Fair enough, sweetheart."

 _She didn't deny it,_ he thought.

She grinned, taking his hand in hers and tugging him to the edge of the cliff, just beside the rock she'd been tied to. She sat down on the smooth stone, her legs stretched out in front of her over the edge, sandals dangling precariously on her toes. He sat down beside her, happy to follow her lead, and she turned slightly to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "So, you killed a gorgon, huh?"

"Yes."

"Any other fun adventures?"

"You have no idea," he said, grimacing.

"I want to," she said honestly, glancing at him before turning back to the sunrise. "Tell me."

* * *

Thanks for reading! What did you guys think? I know it's a little high on the fluff-o-meter, but I hope you enjoyed it. Did you have a favorite part? Let me know! :D


	26. Tumblr Mini-drabbles III

Fluff Minidrabbles in honor of this shit-show of a week. I hope they can cheer you guys up.

* * *

Klaus and Caroline cuddle on a couch in an ambiguous future canon with no babies.

* * *

Caroline groaned, flopping back onto the couch, bouncing slightly from the impact, and peered at Klaus out of the corner of her eye as he hung up his jacket in the front hall closet. "I ate too much," she mumbled, stretching and fighting down a yawn. "You were right. That place is better than the one I liked."

"I know that I'm right, although it is nice to hear you acknowledge it every now and then."

She huffed and he gave her a dimpled grin, the one that seemed to be reserved for when he teased her and knew he was getting a reaction. She sat up enough to leave a space on the couch, laying back down with her head in his lap once he took the hint. His fingers immediately tangled in her hair, and she hummed in contentment, closing her eyes.

When she had come to him a small part of her had insisted that he'd probably gotten over her, that she shouldn't have expected him to wait around, but as soon as he opened the door she found that niggling doubt disproven. However, she occasionally wondered whether he'd been close to giving up. Whether a century and a half was almost too long.

"Penny for your thoughts, sweetheart?"

"I was just thinking about how you said you'd wait and I kind of took forever to decide that I wanted you. Like, I needed the time and I'm not apologizing for it, but there's no way you never thought about moving on, you know?"

She heard Klaus chuckle softly, and she opened her eyes to frown at him. "What?"

"I always knew that we'd come together eventually, sweetheart. It was just a matter of when."

"Someone's confident."

"Do I have a reason not to be?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You are here, after all."

"I am, and it's going to stay that way. I just want to know why you were so sure."

He stared down at her, his head tilted slightly to the side as he tangled his fingers through hers, the casual intimacy of it catching her off-guard. "I told you I'd wait however long it took, and I was perfectly serious. I'm immortal. I have all the time in the world, and I wanted you to take the time you needed to decide. I wasn't in any hurry."

"What if I didn't come?"

"Perhaps you're not aware of the meaning of 'immortal', but–"

She glared at him, and he gave her that teasing dimpled smile.

* * *

Some asshole's dog attacked Caroline's terrier at the dog park, and Caroline is not pleased.

* * *

Caroline looked up from the book she'd been reading on the park bench when she heard her dog Bee barking non-stop, and her eyes widened as she saw the large German Shepherd snarling at her. She was up in an instant, speeding over to her dog and seeing movement in her peripheral vision of someone holding the German Shepherd back.

"Do you _mind_?" Caroline snapped, picking up her quivering terrier and cuddling it to her chest, the dog calming almost immediately. "Do you own a leash?"

"Yes, but Tyler prefers not to use it," the man said.

Caroline's head snapped up at the accent, quickly registering the blue eyes, the stubble, and the shirt clinging deliciously to his torso. She tried not to lick her lips or give any other signal that she found him attractive.

She failed.

She shifted the dog in her arms and swallowed, looking determinedly into the bad pet owner's eyes. "Well obviously the dog prefers no leash. No one likes being tied up."

She realized what she'd said a split second later, unwelcome images of him tying her up invading her mind and making heat fill her. She flushed and he gave her a dimpled grin, his eyes sparkling as though he knew _exactly_ what she was thinking. She held his gaze, biting her lip at the heated look, the quick dart of his tongue over his lips, and she opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"Just…you need to make sure your dog doesn't pick on the little dogs," she said, knowing she was going into awkward ramble mode but unable to stop herself. "Like, the fact that I had to intervene and stop your giant monster from eating my baby is a problem."

"He didn't eat your baby, sweetheart," he drawled. "He was just trying to show dominance. Clearly your little mutt baited him somehow."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Don't call me sweetheart."

"May I have your name then?"

"Nope," she said with a fake cheerful smile, shifting Bee in her arms and adjusting her purse. "Anyway, now that you've officially ruined our walk I'm going to get out of here. Hopefully I'll never have to see you again."

"I'm Klaus," he said, ignoring her attempt to leave.

She ignored his outstretched hand, and she could have sworn a shadow of a smile flitted across his face, his eyes narrowing as though she'd challenged him somehow.

She huffed and turned on her heel to make her dramatic exit, hoping that she'd never have to deal with _that asshole_ again.

Caroline moved in with that asshole a year later, and both were relieved when Bee and Tyler managed to start getting along, despite the rocky and _very loud_ start.

* * *

Sequel to "Klaus has to pick up Caroline from the police station when she got drunk." in Chapter 16.

* * *

"Your lips are so soft," Caroline said, her chin balanced on her palm as she looked at Klaus, who was gripping the steering wheel with the air of someone who was considering their best escape route. "I've missed kissing them."

"Noted, love."

"No, really. Like, I've missed your lips. And you. I mean, all of you."

"Right," he said tersely.

"Do you want to know what else I miss?"

He sighed. "I'm sure you're going to tell me no matter what, sweetheart."

"I miss waking up next to you and seeing your hair all messy. I miss you screwing up my system for organizing the fridge. I miss your sticky notes with the little sketches that you leave me when you don't get to say goodbye in the mornings."

"Caroline," he started, and she sniffled, trying to hold back tears.

"Look, I know you think that this is me like, drunkenly confessing things before i pretend I didn't say them in the morning, but I've been trying to get the nerve to call you all week. I love you and I know you're weird about feelings and that's fine and it's why I trapped you in a car to tell you," she said, and he snorted.

"What, you decided to have this conversation while driving so that I couldn't leave?"

"Yes," she said seriously. "I mean, no I didn't plan it, but it seemed like a good time to take advantage of the opportunity."

She felt like she was sobering up, and she could feel the fear creeping through her as Klaus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Caroline, I don't think that we should have this conversation when you're drunk. I do believe what you're saying, but I'd like you to be sober when we talk."

"I'm sobering up. Sort of."

"Not enough," he growled.

"I miss your car and how ridiculously clean it is," she mumbled, suddenly feeling very tired and leaning back in her seat. "I miss going to the grocery store with you and arguing about what kind of apples to buy."

He was quiet for a moment before he turned onto his street (which used to be _their_ street before Caroline had left). "I miss you too," he said quietly.

She gave him a small smile before turning back to look out the window.

"And I miss calling you out on running stop signs."

"Caroline…"

"It's okay. I don't miss it anymore because I just got to do it."

* * *

It's morning, Caroline doesn't want to get up. Set post S5 but Caroline's at college and lives with Klaus bc why not.

* * *

"Caroline, sweetheart. Time to get up."

"No," she mumbled, burying her face in his chest and tightening her grip on his body.

"Then let go of me so that I can get up."

"No."

"I need to get some breakfast, love."

She cracked an eye open, her nails curling to dig into his abs, clearly considering the pros and cons of letting him go. She sighed, and he was ready for her to disentangle herself when she latched on tighter, her eyes squeezed shut as she blindly reached behind her for her phone.

"Call Ralph," she said to the phone, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes as she yawned into the phone when his hybrid picked up. "Hey, can you send up some blood coffee? Hmm…maybe some pastries too? I could go for a chocolate croissant."

Klaus listened as Ralph said he'd get right on it, and shifted slightly to get more comfortable as Caroline snuggled against him, her breathing even, a stray eyelash clinging to her cheek. She'd somehow fallen asleep again in the two minutes after she'd got off the phone, and he tried not to disturb her as he reached for his sketchbook. She always looked so peaceful when she was asleep, and he wanted to capture the moment on paper. He winced when she made a soft sound of annoyance. "Shh," she whispered. "It's time to sleep."

There was a knock on the door, and Klaus could smell the faint enticing aroma of coffee and chocolate. Caroline seemed to as well, perking up immediately, and he grinned as she practically shoved him out of the bed. A minute later, he was situated with coffee and a sketchbook, Caroline settled between his legs, her back resting against his chest.

"What time is it anyway?"

"Just about eleven. Why?"

Caroline's eyes few open and she took a sharp breath. "Oh my god, why didn't you tell me? I have a test in Econ today."

"I tried to wake you up on time, he said, snaking his arms around her waist and tugging her against his chest as he nuzzled her neck, his sketchbook laying forgotten by his thigh. "But that's what compulsion is for. It's too late now. Might as well stay in bed with me where it's warm."

"Okay," she said, not bothering to argue, and Klaus grinned as she curled against him, his fingers running up and down her spine.

* * *

It's Christmas and Caroline wants to distract Klaus from his work. Verges on crack.

* * *

Caroline stuck her head in Klaus's study, grinning as she saw him at his desk with his laptop, clearly immersed in work.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I'll be done in a few minutes, I promise," he said without looking up.

"That's what you said an hour ago, and I need help picking out presents for your siblings."

Klaus sighed, still not looking up from the screen. "I most likely won't have much to offer if you're not going to gift ties, clothes, or concert tickets."

"Of course you do. You're Santa Klaus," Caroline said cheerfully, and the way that Klaus's head moved to look at her reminded her of slow motion special effects. "What's wrong?"

"Do not call me that again."

Caroline knew she was treading a thin line between teasing and Klaus being irritated, but she couldn't resist pushing it. She walked to his chair and laid her hands on his shoulders as she bent down to kiss his neck. "Can't you take a break? Aren't you the one in charge of this entire operation?" she asked between nips and licks, and Klaus scoffed.

"Sweetheart, you know that the werewolf coalition in New Zealand is having some difficulties. I have to take care of it as soon as possible."

"Okay, but would an hour-long break really kill you?"

"Most likely not, but if I finish now we'll have more time later."

"If I'm a good girl and wait for you will I get a present?" she asked, dropping the tone of her voice to a seductive lilt as she let her palms skate down his chest.

She could tell by his huff that he was rolling his eyes, despite not being able to see his face, and he spun around in his chair, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her down to straddle him. "Since you're so determined to bother me in the spirit of the hallmark holidays, you can sit here until I'm done."

"Do I get to tell you what I want for Christmas, Santa Klaus?" she asked with a wicked grin.

"Is it a gag? If so, I'm happy to give it to you early."

"Hmm…Maybe later," she said, nipping his ear.

"Caroline," he said warningly, and she huffed, tucking her chin into his shoulder and waiting as he typed one-handed, not-so-subtly grinding against him every now and then to see how impatient he'd get.

About twenty minutes later, he seemed to give up, and he muttered something about finishing later before she found herself slammed against the wall of his study with his lips on hers.

Caroline decided that, at least in this case, it might be better to be naughty than be nice.

* * *

Caroline comes to NOLA v.21

* * *

Caroline tried not to fidget as she held the phone to her ear, waiting for Klaus to pick up. She'd decided that it was time to try being with Klaus, and had been putting off calling him for weeks while she was packing up her apartment in Chicago. Now though, the time had come, and she couldn't help the nerves building in her stomach.

One could accuse Elizabeth Forbes of many parenting mistakes, but Caroline's manners were not one of them. She hadn't been raised in a barn, and she wasn't about to turn up on his doorstep unannounced with a moving van. This, of course, meant that she had to entertain the possibility that he'd say no. She stiffened when the ringing abruptly cut off, Klaus's voice coming over the line.

"Caroline," he greeted. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me stay with you in New Orleans for a bit."

 _Forever_.

"You're always welcome, Caroline. Barring, of course, the possibility that your friends have decided to kill me or my family with no provocation, but I'm assuming that's not the case?"

Caroline snorted inelegantly. "Well, to be fair, if it was I wouldn't tell you. But no. As far as I know no one has an active vendetta against you."

"All right. Is there an occasion?"

The words she wanted to say got caught in her throat, and she wasn't quite sure what to say. It was only when Klaus called her name that she realized that he might have thought they'd disconnected, and she rushed to speak. "I want to try," she said in a rush.

Dead silence.

"I mean, I want to try being with you. You know, turning up on your doorstep and all that stuff you promised a bajillion years ago."

He was quiet for another second or two, and Caroline started talking again, anxiety bubbling up within her that he might be over it.

"Obviously I don't want to like, invite myself over or anything. If you're not like, up for company or a girlfriend or whatever just let me know and I can find somewhere else to–"

"I'll have a private jet sent to pick you up," Klaus interrupted, his voice hoarse.

"Why would I need a private jet?"

"Were you planning on shipping your belongings?" he asked, sounding vaguely amused, and she laughed quietly.

"Yeah, actually."

"It's rather inconvenient considering our other options. I'll send a car for you and they'll load everything into the van and put it on the plane for you. I'll meet you at the airport when you get here. You're all ready to go, I'd assume?"

"Yeah," she said, slightly stunned by his immediate efforts to help her, and his casual use of 'our' to mark their new relationship, but she realized that she shouldn't have been all that surprised. And maybe she should have been nervous about it moving fast, but…She didn't mind. "Do you need my address to send the car here?"

"No need, sweetheart. I know where you live."

"You're such a stalker," she grumbled, and she heard him chuckle over the line.

"I'll see you tonight, Caroline."

"Okay. Bye."

She hung up, staring at the sealed boxes with all of her things. By this time tomorrow, she'd be moved in and in a relationship with an admittedly kind of evil mass murderer who she'd never actually dated in the first place. She wondered what it said about her that she was excited.

* * *

Klaus meets a girl in a coffee shop, and she's a little upset.

* * *

"Is anyone sitting here?"

Klaus looked up to see a pretty blonde in a sweater that had seen better days with red-rimmed eyes and chipped nail polish gesturing to the seat on the other side of the table.

Praying that she wasn't looking for a stranger to tell her life story to, he nodded once before turning back to his laptop. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," she said quietly with a sniffle, sitting down and looking glumly at her coffee.

Normally he would have had no desire to learn about the problems of a complete stranger, but something about the girl was making him want to take an interest. He tried to concentrate on his essay for one of his art history classes, glancing up every few seconds just to look at her. A good minute passed where he was trying to remember what he'd been writing about before he gave up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked uncomfortably, wondering whether he'd regret this later.

The girl sniffed and looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to get a one-night-stand with the vulnerable emotional girl."

He was slightly surprised, wondered for a moment why she'd think that, before realizing that to her it probably looked like he was checking her out every time he looked up (not that she'd be wrong). "It's one o'clock in the afternoon and I like to think that I don't have to stoop to preying on the emotional to go home with pretty girls such as yourself."

She wrinkled her nose. "Seriously? I don't now how you managed to say that without sounding creepy."

"It's the accent."

She huffed, taking a sip of her coffee and looking out the window. "You have to promise not to laugh at me."

"I'll do my best, love."

Her eyes widened slightly at the endearment. "Caroline. My name's Caroline."

"I'm Klaus," he said, bringing out the dimples and lowering his voice just a bit, and she swallowed and looked back down at her hands.

"Okay, well, my dad's super busy and he and his partner live near here, so he pays me to basically be my step-sister's chauffeur to all of her extra-curricular activities. To keep her quiet, we listen to audiobooks because she's super whiny and it's the only way she shuts up," she started, and Klaus fought the urge to smile.

That experience was quite familiar to him, although there was less paying and more punishment involved in complying with Mikael's demands. Rebekah, who was six years younger than him, had always been rather badly-behaved, and he'd gotten her to be quiet by playing horrible music. He realized Caroline was talking again, and he tuned back in.

"So, we just finished one two days ago and she wanted to listen to the seventh Harry Potter book. I've only read it once, and it was the morning it came out, so I only remembered the big points. Anyway, I just drove her home and Hedwig died," she said sniffling. "And like, that owl was _so important_. She was Harry's first best friend and did so much for him, and I'm just so upset. And Hagrid bought it for him and it was his first good birthday present ever…"

He tried to fight his smile down, both knowing that it would ruin any chance with her and wondering why he so desperately _wanted_ a chance with her. He didn't have much to say, had never been good with comforting people who were upset, especially when he viewed their reasons as irrational. "Hedwig is a fictional character," he said, trying to sound comforting, and he knew he'd said the wrong thing when she glared at him.

"So you do think it's stupid."

Klaus tried to remember what Rebekah had shouted at him when he made fun of her for sobbing when someone died on Game of Thrones. "Not at all. People create bonds with characters that they relate to or like, and they'll associate them with good memories. Therefore, if the character is hurt in some way or dies, that can upset them, because they had an emotional connection. It's perfectly normal."

"Thanks, I think…?" she half-asked.

"You're welcome, love."

"Caroline," she corrected, her lips twitching.

"My apologies, Caroline," he said, enjoying the way she shivered when her name rolled off his tongue. "Have you had lunch?"

"Not really," she said, flushing. "I basically came straight here for a comfort mocha after I drove her home."

"May I take you out?"

She gave him an assessing look, her teeth sinking into her lower lip before breaking eye contact, looking down, a small smile on her face. "Yeah. I'd like that."

* * *

When Caroline was seven, Klaus Mikaelson put gum in her hair and she vowed to hate him forever. When she sees him again, it turned out that he grew into a _very_ attractive man.

* * *

Caroline took a deep breath, inhaling the woodsy scent of the remote area. She'd gone to Camp Whitmore every summer since she was seven, first as a camper, then as a junior counselor, and now as a counselor herself.

She would be in charge of a cabin of ten eleven year old girls, and she was incredibly excited for the summer to start. Or, well, she had been until she saw a name on the staff sign-in sheet that she'd hoped never to see again for as long as she lived.

Klaus Mikaelson had also attended the camp from age seven to fourteen, but, to Caroline's relief, he'd stopped right before he was the age to be a junior counselor. She'd had five peaceful Klaus-free years, but it appeared that they were now coming to an end. God, she hoped he'd grown up to be hideous or something. When she was a teen, she'd been able to admit to herself that he was objectively pretty good looking, but she'd never have said it out loud.

She hated him, okay? Really.

She turned to Bonnie, who was standing next to her, waiting patiently for Caroline to get out of the way so that she could sign in as well. "Klaus is here," she hissed.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, shoving Caroline aside lightly so that she could sign her name on the sheet. "You are the only person I know who could hold a grudge for twelve years because someone put gum in your hair."

"I had been growing my hair out for six months," Caroline said irritably, and Bonnie snorted.

"Caroline, you didn't even have to cut your hair. They got it out with peanut butter and you were fine."

"Yeah. I got the gum out, but Klaus stuck to me glue. He's such an ass."

"He only did that because he got a reaction out of you, and I don't think you can judge someone by their behavior as a seven year old."

"Bonnie, he was just as bad every year after that until I was blessed with him leaving."

"No offense, Care, but you weren't exactly a picnic either as a kid."

"You liked me," she said defensively, and Bonnie smiled.

"Yeah, because we were best friends within five minutes of being on a bus together, and you therefore never told me my backpack was a 'tacky plastic Lisa Frank knockoff' because I broke your art project."

"Elena totally deserved it," Caroline said mutinously.

"Look, you were nice to most people, but if people got you mad..."

"Yeah, I know, I'm a grudge-holding bitch," Caroline said with a twitch of her lips. "But Klaus was never nice to me. He totally deserves me hating him, okay?"

"Well, I disagree, but I suppose that it's nice to know I made such an impression," a familiar accented voice, if a bit deeper and huskier, said from behind her.

Caroline whirled around, ready to tell Klaus that he wasn't allowed to speak to her unless he absolutely _had_ to and stopped short when she saw him. Dimples. Short blonde hair with a light curl. Stubble. Blue eyes. A shirt that clung to him like a second skin.

A twisted smug smirk when he noticed that she was checking him out.

Damn it.

She shook herself, swallowing. "I'll be professional if you do," she said, knowing that she shouldn't try to manage too many words before she processed that Klaus had somehow turned out to be ridiculously hot, because karma just couldn't do her any favors.

"Well, from the way you were staring at me I'd say that that'll be more of a challenge for you, love," he said with a smug, dimpled grin.

She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the fact that he was clearly just trying to push her buttons. "How to be professional: Rule number one, don't call me love. My name's Caroline," she said, trying to sound calm despite the rage boiling inside of her.

"It's all right, love. I'm not all that interested in being professional either," he said, his eyes pointedly roaming up and down her body.

"I— _Excuse me_?"

Klaus ignored her indignation, turning to scrawl his signature in annoyingly pretty calligraphy. He gave her another smirk and a wink as he stood, capping the pen and letting it fall to the plastic table with a clack. "Feel free to look at me all you want, love."

"Seriously?" she spluttered, but he just stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking past her.

Oh, it was _on_.

* * *

Celeb AU where they're both vampires

* * *

Caroline Forbes died at an early age.

By the time she was twenty-one years old, she'd won seven Grammys, had four platinum albums, and had been literally stabbed in the back by her personal assistant. She'd woken up in her underwear in what was clearly a funeral home (she'd died instantly so there had been no need for a hospital) and had scared the guy about to change her into her dress for the casket half to death.

She'd eaten him, realized she was a vampire, staged the scene so it seemed like someone had come in and kidnapped her body, and then ran. The media ate it up, and after making an elaborate color-coded plan to compel the right people and get the right documents, Camille O'Connell, Caroline's cousin who looked suspiciously similar to her, was born, and she inherited _everything_.

A month later, she'd managed to convince some billionaire in Las Vegas that they absolutely _needed_ a Caroline Forbes impersonator to capitalize on her death. It was good money, her death having sparked some sort of 'you didn't know what you had until it was gone' frenzy, and it was actually really nice to just be able to perform without the interviews and publicity stunts that she'd had to do as an artist.

She was still waiting to confront the person who turned her, however.

She'd slept with Klaus Mikaelson the night before she'd been stabbed. He was the son of a playboy billionaire, and he'd gotten into the business for funsies. He was surprisingly talented (at both acting and sex), and she hadn't hesitated to let him show her back to his penthouse for some after after-party fun. The next morning when she managed to complete her walk of shame without getting caught by cameras, she realized that there was something fishy about it. She could remember how amazing the sex was, but after she came, everything just...went blank.

She had been completely sober that night, and she hadn't been sure what had happened.

However, when she awoke in the funeral parlor. The memories came rushing back. Klaus's eyes had gone golden as she'd come down from her high, his fangs dropping, and she'd screamed in surprise before moaning as he moved faster, soon too lost in the feeling of him inside of her to care. He'd bitten her, and she'd liked it.

Afterwards, she belatedly remembered asking what he was, and asking him to compel the knowledge away. He'd been disappointed, but she knew that it would be a hard secret to keep. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened, but it would have been weird for Caroline's cousin to approach Klaus when no one knew that they had slept together. So, when she found out he was coming to her show while in Vegas for some promotion of his new movie, she planned on ambushing him at the press party afterwards.

Her plan was foiled when Klaus knocked on the door to her dressing room before the show, slipping inside. He stood behind her, and she continued to methodically apply her make-up as she glanced at his reflection in the mirror. "Hello, Caroline."

She froze, turning around to look at him. "I'm-"

"Caroline," he repeated, walking towards her with the air of a hunter cornering a particularly precious piece of prey. "You're a smart little thing, aren't you? Turning death into a way to keep doing what you love."

"Not little and not a thing," she shot back, turning and picking up her lipstick again. "When did you figure it out?"

"Immediately," he said simply, stopping behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders, making eye contact with her in the mirror. "My blood hadn't been out of your system when the girl stabbed you, and I knew you'd turn. I decided to wait a bit to see how you were faring and whether I needed to intervene. I had planned to leave you alone once I ascertained whether you were handling it well, but I found that I couldn't stay away."

"Why's that?" she asked, reaching for the glitter stick to highlight her cheeks.

"I want you," he said simply.

She scoffed. "You had me already."

"I want you forever."

She frowned, turning to face him with some difficulty, suddenly feeling rather trapped between his body and her vanity. "We only met once, and we didn't even really talk."

"I know," he said, his hand lingering on her upper arm as the other cupped her hip. "But I want to get to know you a bit better. Perhaps in time I can convince you, hmm?"

She was about to answer when her stage manager knocked sharply on her door. "Places in ten, Cami!"

"Got it," she shouted back before turning back to Klaus. "Meet me here after the show. We can talk more about you convincing me," she said with a grin before pushing past him.

Sure, it was probably a bad idea, but she had a vampire sex drive now. It was just one of her basic needs.

And maybe she was a bit curious to see where it would go...

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought! Which one was your favorite? Why? Any favorite lines or parts? Let me know :D


	27. One Week

Summary: Klaus and Elijah go out of town for a little bit. Caroline, Katherine, Kol and Rebekah try to run New Orleans while they're gone, and things don't exactly go as planned...

* * *

 **MONDAY**

"Be careful, Caroline."

"I promise I won't burn the city to the ground," Caroline said teasingly, laying her cheek against his shoulder as he held her.

"Good," he muttered, and she pulled away, recognizing that he had reached his PDA limit for the day.

"Text me when you land," Caroline said, kissing Klaus on the cheek and plopping back down on the sofa, pulling over her laptop to resume her shoe browsing.

"I'm invincible."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't sink like a stone in the ocean and be stuck at the bottom constantly re-awaking until you're too desiccated to recover with no hope of escaping."

"If only," Katherine muttered from next to her, and Caroline shot her a glare.

"Seriously?"

"I'll text you," Klaus said impatiently. "Bye, love."

"Bye," Caroline said, looking up from her computer and shooting him a quick grin.

Klaus went to join Elijah in the car, and Caroline leaned back against the couch cushions, clicking through the impressive array of shoes.

"You really think it's going to be fine?" Rebekah asked, looking up from her nail file, her legs delicately crossed in front of her.

"How hard can it be?" Caroline asked optimistically, tilting her head to the side as she tried to figure out whether anything in her closet would match the shoes she was looking at.

Rebekah's nail file rubbed in repeated grating scrapes as she stared Caroline down. "I know that you most likely don't understand due to your lack of experience with leadership positions-"

Caroline huffed, adding the shoes to the cart (she could just buy some clothes to go with them, and they were on _sale_ ) and looking up. "You realize that I was head of-"

"Five different committees in high school as well as the winner of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, yes," Rebekah said boredly. "None of that has anything to do with running a city."

"It's only for a few days."

"Again, perhaps your lack understanding of how much can happen in such a short period of time, but-"

Caroline exchanged an exasperated look with Katherine before taking a deep breath. "Rebekah, it'll be fine."

It was not fine.

 **TUESDAY**

Caroline (2:58pm): Klaus?

Caroline (3:05pm): Klaus?

Caroline (3:06pm): I know you're up bc it's not even ten in england yet

Caroline (3:06pm): And we have a problem

Caroline (3:06pm): well two problems

Caroline (3:13pm): Whatever.

Caroline (3:13pm): text me back when you get this

Klaus (4:43pm): Sorry, love. I was in a meeting.

Caroline (4:44pm): So don't be mad

Caroline (4:44pm): but you know the painting from the guy you like from like, 15something?

Klaus (4:45pm): We have several. Which one?

Caroline (4:45pm): The one with jesus in it

Klaus (4:48pm): Again, we have several.

Klaus (4:49pm): Just tell me what happened to it, sweetheart.

Caroline (4:52pm): SO JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR THIS WAS KOL'S FAULT

 **Caroline has sent you a photo**

Klaus (4:55pm): How did that happen, exactly?

Caroline (4:56pm): Kol said he was 'painting'

Klaus (4:58pm): Right.

Caroline (4:59pm): Are you mad?

Klaus (5:00pm): Yes.

Klaus (5:00pm): That's Feast of the Rose Garlands by Albrech Dürer, by the way.

Klaus (5:01pm): I stole it for Rebekah in the 1700s.

Caroline (5:01pm): How do you get the double dot thing over your u?

Klaus (5:02pm): You press and hold the 'u' key until it appears.

Klaus (5:03pm): You said there were two problems, love.

Caroline (5:05pm): Yeah so

Caroline (5:06pm): Originals re-grow hearts right?

Caroline (5:06pm): bc like, Rebekah says Kol will be fine but he looks pretty dead to me

Caroline (5:07pm): Bonnie's mad

Klaus (5:08pm): Yes, they do.

Caroline (6:23pm): Update: He just woke up

Caroline (6:26pm): Update two, Kol tried to rip out Rebekah's heart

Caroline (6:27pm): But obviously it didn't work.

Klaus (6:30pm): Please move Kol somewhere where he won't spill blood on the carpet when you repeatedly murder him.

Caroline (6:34pm): Oh, Kol's fine.

Caroline (6:36pm): I just meant Rebekah doesn't have a heart :)))))

 **WEDNESDAY**

Rebekah (8:25pm): Your little interest keeps running away from her bodyguard with the Bennett witch

Klaus (8:32pm): I do hope that you're not talking about Caroline?

Rebekah (8:33pm): Who else would I be talking about?

Klaus (8:34pm): It's not polite to tattle on others, little sister.

Rebekah (8:34pm): I just thought you'd want to know.

Rebekah (8:35pm): What if something happened to her? Wouldn't you be angry if I hadn't told you?

Rebekah (8:52): Nothing to say, Nik?

Rebekah (8:53): So I'm right, then.

Klaus (8:37pm): Caroline, where are you?

Caroline (8:38pm): At an orgy with a bunch of werewolf men who can all kill me with a single love bite

Klaus (8:39pm): That's not funny, sweetheart.

Caroline (8:40pm): I'm at the movies with Bonnie. What's wrong?

Klaus (8:41pm): Are you with your bodyguard?

Klaus (8:44pm): Caroline?

Klaus (9:01pm): Caroline, if you don't answer in the next three minutes I'll assume you've been kidnapped and send someone to retrieve you.

Caroline (9:10pm): Omigod Klaus we were in a movie!

Caroline (9:11pm): I turned off my phone

Klaus (9:12pm): Why? You should keep your phone on just in case.

Caroline (9:12pm): Bodyguard?!

Klaus (9:13pm): Did you think I'd leave you unprotected?

Caroline (9:14pm): I'm literally with your ALMOST UNKILLABLE siblings

Klaus (9:15pm): Rebekah was the one who texted me, actually.

Caroline (9:16pm): Ugh i stg i'm going to kill her

Klaus (9:17pm): Just don't try to rip out her heart, love. I've heard it doesn't work.

Caroline (9:18pm): shut up

 **THURSDAY**

Caroline (12:32pm): I miss you

Klaus (12:48pm): And I, you.

Caroline (12:49pm): And I love you a lot

Caroline (12:49pm): Like, a lot

Klaus (12:50pm): And I love you.

Caroline (12:51pm): Yeah so

Caroline (12:51pm): Just keep that in mind for the next few minutes

Klaus (12:52pm): ?

Caroline (12:53pm): right so like

Caroline (12:53pm): about that whole

Caroline (12:53pm): "don't burn the city down" thing

 **Caroline has sent you a photo**

 **Caroline has sent you a photo**

 **Caroline has sent you a photo**

Klaus (12:56pm): how

Caroline (12:59pm): Fire?

Klaus (1:00pm): Is that a question?

Caroline (1:01pm): In my defense

Caroline (1:01pm): I was really drunk

Klaus (1:02pm): Tell me, Caroline

Caroline (1:03pm): So Kat and i were doing those fire shot things

Caroline (1:04pm): Where you like

Caroline (1:04pm): down shots that are on fire

Klaus (1:05pm): Caroline it's the middle of the afternoon.

Caroline (1:06pm): ARE YOU SERIOUSLY JUDGING ME FOR DOING SHOTS BEFORE NOON WHEN I JUST BURNED DOWN TWO STORES AND A BAR

Klaus (1:07pm): Did you burn down our house?

Caroline (1:08pm): No

Klaus (1:09pm): Then I honestly couldn't care less.

Klaus (1:10pm): Why were you so nervous to tell me?

Caroline (1:10pm): Yeah so you know how you love me

Caroline (1:11pm): ?

Klaus (1:11pm): I vaguely recall, yes.

Caroline (1:12pm): So you know that super old rum from like, the 1600s

Caroline (1:13pm) That you keep in our basement

Klaus (1:14pm): I take it you drank it?

Caroline (1:15pm): Yeah. Sorry :(

 **FRIDAY**

Caroline (10:34pm): Klaus?

Klaus (10:35pm): Yes?

Caroline (10:36pm): Just so we're clear I think i'm pretty good at this whole ruling thing

Caroline (10:36pm): My reign is just being disturbed by your hooligan siblings

Caroline (10:37pm): That's the only reason there are problems

Klaus (10:37pm): Duly noted.

Caroline (10:38pm): Good

Klaus (10:39pm): Is there a problem you needed to address?

Caroline (10:40pm): No?

Caroline (10:40pm): Why?

Klaus (10:41pm): Every time you've made contact it was because you have an issue with the city.

Caroline (10:42pm): Nope! No problems

Caroline (10:43pm): Other than like, missing you

Caroline (10:44pm): and stuff

Klaus (10:45pm): I miss you too, sweetheart.

* * *

Please let me know what you thought :D


	28. For the Good of Her People

Summary: When the neighboring kingdom of Anseland wants to invade King William Forbes's country, he has two choices: Fight a war that they most certainly would lose, or let King Mikael's son, Prince Niklaus, marry into the family by giving him the hand of his only daughter.

I'm basically allergic to regency fics, so this is set in modern-day imaginary countries. I also did some quick googling about royals addressing each other, but I didn't focus too hard on it, so if anything's wrong, just assume the culture is different ;) I hope you like it!

* * *

Caroline flopped back on her bed, her hair spread out around her as she fought the urge to scream into her pillow. The idea of her country getting taken over in the first place was horrifying, but even more awful was the ultimatum the King of Anseland had given to her father.

The first option was to turn down the proposal the King had given them and go to war, which would quickly result in the decimation of their country and the slaughter of their people. The second was to peacefully become a semi-independent country under the rule of the King of Anseland.

They'd obviously chosen the second, but the definition of 'semi-independent' wasn't exactly what they'd assumed it would be.

King Mikael III had seven children. The oldest, Finn, was preparing to take the throne of Anseland, and Elijah had married Katerina Petrova, who had been the princess of another country they'd taken over. His third son, Niklaus, was meant to take the throne of the next country they conquered by marrying into the family, and Caroline was the lucky winner.

Needless to say, she was not pleased.

 **XXX**

She tried to keep her face neutral as she lingered outside the meeting room, waiting to be announced. The two royal families were about to have the first diplomatic meeting to construct the new government, and she was therefore about to meet her new husband-to-be. She'd never missed her mother as much as she did in that moment, needing someone to relate to, someone who wouldn't see her anger as irrational or unproductive.

Because she _was_ angry. After all, she was being forced into a situation that she didn't ask for or want, and she was dreading this marriage. She had never set eyes on him and she already hated him for what he and his family had done to her country. Taking another deep breath and telling herself that she had to stay strong, she straightened her spine as the doors opened.

"Princess Caroline Margaret Elizabeth Forbes," the guard announced, and she walked in, her head held high, resisting the urge to glower at the man standing on the other side of the table from her father.

He wasn't the king. She'd seen pictures of him in the magazines with neatly combed dirty blonde hair, and beady calculating eyes. Even his pasted fake smile gave her a sick feeling that festered in her stomach, her instincts telling her not to cross him.

This man was younger, less jaded-looking. It took her less than a second to realize that he was her future husband, all she could feel was the burn of blinding loathing. He was wearing a soft-looking henley and black jeans, clothing that was blindingly inappropriate for the meeting, considering her modest cocktail dress and her father's suit. He was smirking, giving off an unmistakable aura of danger as his eyes dragged up and down her body like a wolf observing its prey.

She refused to be prey.

She pointedly did not curtsy and took her seat, expecting the men to sit once she had, as was customary. Instead, the prince raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps, Princess, you should address the future king with the respect he deserves," he said quietly, his smooth tone curling around the words.

Caroline bristled at the address. She was supposed to be addressed as 'Your Royal Highness'. Had he been raised in a barn? "I am not a subject of your crown, _Prince_. I have no obligation to bend my knees in subservience."

"Yet," he said, the 't' rolling off his tongue sharply, and she gave into the urge to glare at him. "And please, sweetheart. Call me Klaus. We should grow familiar with each other, after all."

"I'd prefer to be called 'Your Royal Highness' rather than 'sweetheart', though if you insist on a first-name basis, 'Princess Caroline' will suffice."

He simply seemed to find her contrariness amusing, sinking down on the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. It was a clear indication of how trivial he found the meeting to be, and she gritted her teeth when he pushed his chair back further, propping his feet up on their polished _antique table_.

The unspoken 'you belong to me and I can do whatever the fuck I want' rang loud and clear in the air.

"Now, I'd like to go over the members of your court first. I have some of the closest of my family's allies waiting in the wings to be appointed. So let's see if we can 'thin the heard', shall we?"

She wanted to punch him, had never felt so helpless in her life, and she fought down the tightness in her throat. She was a Princess, and she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her tears. Feeling dread settle in, she looked at the paper that sat prepared for her on the table. It was a list of the most prominent members of her country's court, along with their titles.

Though they were a monarchy and the seats in their court were still passed down hereditarily, they had done as much as possible in the last few decades to improve the lives of all their subjects. Generally there were coalitions who were in charge of various policy areas and tasks, and it had worked well so far. All Caroline could hope for was that Niklaus wouldn't tear them apart.

"Now, tell me about the man in charge of the Housing Coalition. Ah, Lord Donovan."

"He's kind and intelligent, and he's done quite well in leading his team to pass policy that keeps property value relatively high while ensuring that the vast majority of our subjects have a roof over their heads," her father said, and Klaus nodded once.

"I see. I'll appoint my dear family friend Lord Lockwood as his replacement, though Lord Donovan will, of course, still be allowed on the coalition."

Caroline gritted her teeth. She'd known Matt all of her life. He'd minded her when she was a child, and had always been kind to her. Nonetheless, being replaced but still able to participate was not the worst fate in the world, and she had to choose her battles.

"And Lady Bennett?"

"She's the Court Speaker. We have meetings once a week to discuss pressing issues and to update me on the court's progress, as well as acting as their voice in my advisor meetings."

"I see. She's gone. Lord Salvatore will replace her."

"What?!" Caroline burst out. "Sheila's amazing at her job. She's been the Speaker for thirty years, and-"

"And Lord Salvatore will be just as competent, I assure you," Klaus said uncaringly, writing a note on his own list with a heavy expensive-looking pen.

Caroline's blood boiled, and her father shot her a look indicating that she should be quiet.

Klaus continued to include her in the conversation, posing questions about certain members of the court, and Caroline kept her answers as short as possible. She hated him already. _Hated_ him.

Unfortunately, the feeling was clearly not mutual.

Well, in all fairness, he might hate her, she wasn't sure. However, that didn't stop him from lasciviously eyeing her so obviously that she could feel her father growing tenser by the minute, clearly infuriated by her future husband's clear desire for her. Yet, he couldn't comment.

It was an excruciating several hours, and when they were finally done demolishing the government that Caroline had known since birth, by the time Klaus was sliding the papers into a briefcase, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to physically fight him or cry.

She began to stand up, but he cleared his throat. "If I may ask you to stay, Princess, I'd like to discuss the wedding and our living arrangements afterwards."

She froze, her eyes widening before she laced her fingers together, her spine completely straight. "Fine, then."

"I understand that the royal family has several residences in the kingdom. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And do you prefer this one above the others?"

"Yes," she repeated, her eyes narrowing.

"We'll remain here, then. I'd prefer that you were comfortable."

"Oh, well _thank you_ ," Caroline said sarcastically, and Klaus looked annoyed for the first time in the entire meeting.

"Princess, do remember that I didn't ask for this either, though I do understand that it's most likely infinitely more difficult for you. I'm not a monster, contrary to what you seem to believe without even attempting to get to know me, and I'd like to make this transition run as smoothly for you as possible."

"Then maybe you shouldn't fire all of my friends from their positions in my court or treat my great-great-grandmother's antique table as a footstool," she snapped.

A small smile void of humor curled his lips, and he obligingly pulled his feet off, leaning forward, the anger and danger rolling off of him in such thick waves that she nearly flinched. "You're beautiful when you're angry, sweetheart, but I'm sure that once you've grown to want me the fire in your eyes will be infinitely more pleasing."

"You're disgusting."

"Mark my words, Princess, one day you will decide to move from your bed to mine, and then I'll be happy to prove you wrong."

Would they suspect her if she killed him in his sleep?

Probably would be best not to risk it.

Ugh.

XXX

"Would it kill you to at least attempt to look happy, sweetheart?" Klaus hissed through gritted teeth as she aggressively cut up her french toast.

They were at their engagement brunch banquet, which was technically a press conference as well, though that portion wouldn't happen until after the meal. The photographers and journalists were all seated on the floor, and she was at the long table in the front of the room with Klaus, Mikael, and her parents.

"It's not like they don't all know that this marriage is a farce designed to legally give your family power without having us go to war. Why should I have to pretend any differently?"

"Because it's what's expected," he said quietly. "Let me remind you, Caroline, that this could have easily been a violent takeover. Don't make me reconsider."

She forced a smile onto her face, laying her hand on top of his and lowering her voice as she leaned a bit closer. She could see the brief widening of his eyes, the way he swallowed as he inhaled the scent of her hair (completely unsubtly too-maybe she should change shampoos to one he hated?). "Is this how you expect to get me to fall in love with you? By threatening me?"

"Who said I wanted you to fall in love with me, sweetheart? I told you that you'd _want_ me."

His eyes dragged down the neckline of her sundress pointedly, and she smiled slightly, letting her thumb run small circles on the back of his hand as she moved closer, her nose brushing his cheek as she whispered in his ear. "Because you don't want to be alone for the rest of your life."

He stiffened, giving her a glare when she pulled back, and she gave him a winning smile. "Would it kill you to at least attempt to look happy, sweetheart?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm, and he just stared at her with narrowed eyes as she went back to her meal.

She ignored him for another ten minutes, and he did the same, but she stiffened as he laid a hand on hers, their fingers tangling. She couldn't rip it away, not in front of all of the reporters, so instead she 'accidentally' spilled her orange juice in his direction. He hissed as it dripped onto his lap, turning to her to glare, and she gave him a truly insincere wide-eyed look.

"Oh my god, I'm so, _so_ sorry. I feel awful."

He had no choice but to accept her apology (or risk looking like an asshole to the public), and she restrained a triumphant smile as he gritted his teeth and assured her that it was perfectly fine.

"I am really sorry," she repeated, and he gritted his teeth.

"It's fine sweetheart. Please do continue your meal. I'll get you some more, shall I?"

She speared a piece of french toast on her fork and dragged it through the pool of syrup on her plate, watching as he reached for the orange juice. As soon as he'd turned around with it, she lifted the piece to her mouth, wrapping her lips around it and beginning to chew. His eyes darted to her lips as she licked them, and she caught a stray drop of syrup on her finger, sucking it off as she looked at him through her eyelashes.

She heard the room freeze collectively, whispers breaking out at her publicly scandalous move, and he gritted his teeth as she smirked, leaning into him. "I hate you," she whispered sweetly. "And that will never change."

He grabbed her hand before she could move it back, bringing it to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Her heart was pounding, an unwanted flush blooming in her cheeks, and he grinned as he pulled away. "We'll see, sweetheart."

For some reason, she had a funny feeling that he might be right.

* * *

Please let me know what you thought! I could be convinced to do a part two if you aren't satisfied with how this ended. Please let me know what you think :D


	29. Get It Up

Summary: While Klaus is waiting for Caroline to claim her forever, he has a one-night stand with a witch, who puts a curse on him when she realizes she was nothing but a one-night stand. He won't be able to get hard until he becomes vulnerable to the object of his true affections.

Small warning: This has some nsfw **terms** in it, but it doesn't have smut, so I'm putting it here.

* * *

"Leaving before I woke up. Real classy."

Klaus looked up from his phone at the vaguely familiar voice to see the witch he'd bedded the night before standing in his living room. She was quite pretty and had a lovely arse, but all in all wasn't all that memorable. How had she gotten in? One night stands could be clingy, of course, but he wondered if his security was lacking. He realized that she was talking.

"-that I meant nothing to you?"

"Precisely, love. You meant nothing to me," he confirmed boredly, giving the facade of disinterest and turning back to his phone while still paying attention just in case she tried something. Witches were notoriously petty after all, and she seemed to be nursing a bruised ego.

"How can you be so apathetic? Have you never cared about anyone in your life?"

Visions of long blonde hair and bright blue eyes flashed across his mind, and he scoffed.

"I think that's a bit harsh from a one-night-stand who overestimates her value."

He was faintly surprised when she began to chant what he recognized as a common infatuation enchantment, but compulsion of any kind didn't affect him, and he decided to let her drain herself so there would be less of a fight when he had someone throw her out. He realized that he'd made an error in his calculations when he felt an odd cold creep through his upper thighs and cock, as though someone had held ice underneath the skin.

"What did you do?" he hissed, looking up at her smug face.

"You'll find out," she said with a smirk.

He growled, standing and snapping her neck in one easy movement, hoping her death would stop the enchantment. The prickling feeling on his skin didn't linger and he smirked, waving for a hybrid to come clean up the body before sinking down onto the couch and resuming his previous activities.

He scrolled through instagram, smiling slightly when he saw a beautiful selfie Caroline had taken the day before, the sun hitting her face in a way that gave him the urge to sketch her. Resisting the urge to hit the like button under her caption (Couldn't resist lol #shamelessselfie #summersun #nofilter), he instead pulled out his sketchbook, glancing at the phone for reference before closing the application and beginning to draw the line of her cheek.

 **XXX**

He realized there was something wrong when he shut the door to his bedroom after finishing the sketch, closing his eyes and picturing Caroline with her head thrown back as he nipped her inner thighs, teasing her, always stopping short of her dripping center. Her eyes were half-lidded, her nipples pebbled, tempting him to tease them with his tongue...

His cock didn't even twitch. He frowned. That image had never failed to turn him on, the fantasy of her soft whimpers as he touched her always made him hard. He touched himself. Nothing. He knew he was turned on, could feel the racing of his pulse, the slight quickening of his breath, but he couldn't seem to get his cock to harden. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. The witch had cast a spell to keep him from getting an erection...

He growled, pulling his jeans back up and storming to the library where they kept the grimoires, pulling ones off the shelf that he knew might have something to do with the witch's spell and reading through them, looking for an incantation similar to an infatuation spell.

Now that it had been activated, he could feel the unsettling prickle underneath his skin.

He found his answer after three hours of flipping through the books and resisted the urge to throw the grimoire against the wall, knowing that he might need it later. Still, the solution the book had to break the spell made fear and insecurity well up within him, the idea of confessing his... _feelings_ to her somehow overwhelming.

Yes, he'd told her how he felt before, but never in a way that wasn't littered with romantic promises and pretty compliments. It had always been playful teasing as he watched her small smiles and rolls of her eyes, but he'd never been truly _honest_ with her, had never given her a genuine opening to shut him down completely.

He wasn't sure if he could take seeing her tell him that she truly didn't want him, that it had all been fun and flattering games but she could never love him. A little voice in the back of his mind insisted that that would be exactly what would happen. He'd go to Virginia and open up, and she'd laugh in his face. He poured himself a glass of bourbon, wryly thinking that whiskey dick had never been a problem for him, but there was certainly no downside now.

He wasn't sure whether he could take it, but he knew that with vampire sex drive and his tendency to murder entire towns when miffed, if Caroline wasn't open to his affections now, she certainly wouldn't be once he'd murdered the entire population of Louisiana because he couldn't get it up.

He polished off his third bottle by two in the morning, and when he collapsed in bed he'd decided that he'd take a flight up to Richmond the next morning.

 **XXX**

As he'd expected, his welcome was not warm.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, stuffing her textbook into her backpack. "You were supposed to leave me alone after our... our _thing_ in the woods."

"Trust me, sweetheart, I'd rather not be here either," he said before inwardly wincing at the hurt that flashed across her face and about to tell her that's not what he meant when she spoke, her tone clipped and more than a little irritated.

"Why are you here then?"

"I'm under a spell."

"Do you need me to call Bonnie?"

Her voice was cold, as though she thought he'd come all the way to Mystic Falls just to ask her where to find her friend, and he'd never wanted to murder them more (which was saying something).

"No. I need you," he said quietly, and she met his eyes warily. "I need...I've been cursed."

"Okay," Caroline said slowly. "With what?"

There was no good way to say what the effects were. "I am unable to obtain an erection."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," he said.

"What, and you think I'm going to help you... _jump-start_ your boner, or something?"

"In a way, I suppose."

"I'm not your booty-call."

"My what?"

She stared at him for a second before rolling her eyes and huffing, the familiar movement making him have to fight down a smile. "Your booty-call. You know, like, sex on-call?"

"Quite the opposite, actually." She raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "There's a way to break the curse, you see."

"Okay. Can you get to the point? I have psych in like, half an hour," she checked the clock. "Twenty minutes. You're stalling."

"I must confess my...feelings to the object of my affections," he said, holding her gaze seriously. He felt incredibly uncomfortable now that he'd opened up for her to shut him down, but her eyes widened, and she looked more surprised than like she was going to tell him that she didn't feel the same way.

"Oh," Caroline squeaked after a few seconds of silence, and he realized that she'd been just as aware that he'd been spouting off meaningless compliments as he had.

Perhaps she'd thought that he wasn't completely serious? That when he'd pleasured her in the forest for hours hoping to _ruin_ her for anyone else he had only thought of her as a challenge? Had she thought he was done with her? Been so hostile because she thought he'd been _using_ her? That he didn't have genuine feelings for her?

Well, to be honest, even he wasn't completely sure what he felt for her. It was more than lust, but love seemed like too strong a word. Affection, perhaps? Attachment? He certainly wanted her, had pretended he'd convinced himself that it was inevitable for her to choose him. He'd constructed elaborate plans for how to make sure she never left, had visions of taking her around the world and showing her all his favorite places. He wanted to see her smile when she tasted what _actual_ mexican food was like, wanted to watch her admire every tourist trap in Rome that she'd seen on television.

They stood in silence for a few more seconds as he considered his words before he looked her squarely in the eyes. "I care for you," he said bluntly, hoping the feeling of the magic all over him would disappear, but it didn't. Caroline raised her eyebrows, clearly about as impressed with the quality of his confession as the spell was. "I think you're brilliant and kind and beautiful. I want you. I've wanted you since the moment I saw you."

It was true, but the spell didn't let up, and he almost smiled at Caroline's huff of annoyance. "You're like a thousand year old Hallmark movie. 'I've wanted you since the moment I met you'? Seriously?"

"I don't want to care about you," he said quietly, and he felt just a bit of the spell lift, as though it knew he was on the right track. He wondered for a moment if not being able to have sex was as excruciating as admitting his deepest insecurities would be. Was it really worth it?

Caroline was still staring at him, though she looked more offended than annoyed, and he knew that this was not going well, but pressed on anyway. "I haven't felt this way about someone in quite awhile. I haven't let myself. Then you walked into that gymnasium and I saw the horror in your eyes when you saw what I was doing to the mutt-"

"He's not a mutt and if this is your confession I'm not sure I want to stick around for it."

"And I realized that it wasn't fear of him it was fear _for_ him. Your loyalty and compassion overruled what should have been a very natural fear of a vampire's only predator. I wanted it. I wanted you. I had Tyler bite you hoping to eliminate the threat. I knew how dangerous my interest was, but I couldn't let you die that day. The more time I spent with you the worse it got. You're addictive and brilliant and beautiful and I've never wanted so desperately for someone to choose me, and I loathe it."

Now that he'd started he somehow couldn't stop, and he wasn't sure whether it was the spell pulling the truths from his lips or the way she was looking at him, as though she suddenly understood where he was going with his impromptu speech. "I loathe that you have so much control over me. It's terrifying that you hold my heart in your hands, that you seem to have no inkling of how much power you have...but even more concerning is that I've allowed it. I've never been unable to forget anyone like this, never been unable to let go, and I can't let you go, Caroline. I've tried, and I can't."

She was watching him as he spoke, her head tilted slightly to the side as she listened to him confess things he never thought he'd say out loud, never _wanted_ to say out loud, her face unreadable. After a beat she seemed to realize he was done, and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, laying her cheek on his shoulder, and he could feel the brush of her eyelashes against his neck when she closed her eyes. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, not quite sure how to respond, not quite sure what this response meant from her, and just as he was getting comfortable, she pulled back, standing on her toes a soft kiss to his lips. "Thanks," she said quietly, and he wasn't sure what that meant either. "For sharing, I mean," she said before wincing at his expression and letting out a sharp breath. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I mean, I know that was a lot of trust for you, weird anti-boner spell or not. So thanks. You know, for trusting me."

"You're welcome," he said quietly, and they stared at each other, his hand drifting down to her waist. It was almost too much, the mixed emotions on her face and the aftermath of that embarrassingly open one-sided confession, and he cleared his throat. "You have class," he muttered, pulling back, and she snorted.

"You really think I'm leaving you alone after that for _class_? First of all, it's psychopathology, and I'm perfectly fine having a hands-on lesson instead of a lecture."

"I'm not a psychopath, and I believe that's an area of study devoted to many mental disorders rather than just the one."

"See? Already learning things," she said teasingly. "Plus you haven't even listened to my confession yet."

"Your confession?" he asked, his lips twitching. "And what's that, love?"

"I also care about you," she said bluntly. "And I'm scared too. You're really old and kind of murderey, which generally isn't what I go for in guys, you know? I'm worried that someday you're going to get tired of me and move on to the next girl, or that I'll get so comfortable with you doing terrible things that I'll start making excuses for them. I don't want to lose myself, and I feel like I could if I was with you. I want to try anyway, though. I really, really do. I've just been scared to call you because I was worried you just thought I was a challenge and that once we had sex you would laugh in my face if I ever called you again."

"Caroline, you have to have known-"

"But I didn't, because I'm just as much of an insecure wimp as you are, so if you could just tone down the freaking out and remember that I'm _just as freaked out_ , it might work out better. Okay?"

He grinned. "What might work better?"

"Us, _obviously_ ," she said.

"And I thought you were just saying you were insecure."

"I'm insecure, not deaf," she said with a roll of her eyes. "How about we watch a movie and do dinner, and if you play your cards right I might be willing to help you test if that spell broke first hand."

They did not make it through the movie, and the spell was, indeed, broken.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Did you like Klaus's speech? Caroline's? Did you think it was IC? Any favorite lines? Please tell me your thoughts! :D


	30. Ballet Class

Summary: Klaus takes his niece to her ballet class and immediately finds himself quite taken with her teacher Caroline.

For klarolineforevermine. I wrote this in about an hour, so please excuse any mistakes :)

* * *

"We're gonna be late."

Klaus looked away from the painting he was working on to stare down at the seven-year-old in front of him. She was picking at a loose thread on her tights as she stared up at him. Her frown would most likely have been much more pronounced if her hair hadn't been pulled back in a tight bun so severe that it restricted the movements of her face. Katerina had assured him that Nadia was all ready to go when she'd dropped her off, but Klaus most definitely was not.

He had just found his inspiration for the painting in front of him, and he did hate to tear himself away from a work in-progress, especially when it was going so well.

"I'm aware."

"Caroline doesn't let you in class when you're more than fifteen minutes late."

"Caroline?"

"My ballet teacher. She's really nice."

"Doesn't sound like it if she locks you out if you're late. Perhaps we just shouldn't bother."

He'd like nothing more than to give the girl a television and a cookie and let her quietly stay out of his way, to be honest. Unfortunately, Elijah had asked quite nicely for him to escort her to ballet, and if Klaus knew anything about his brother, it was that any favors given to him would be paid back in full, if not more. He'd once wheedled out the shared summer home in Vienna for an extra month in the summer for simply feeding their hellion of a cat for a few days while he and his perpetually irritating wife were on vacation.

It was always good to have a favor or two in the bank with his older brother.

"I'll tell Mom," Nadia said, jutting her chin out, and Klaus resisted the urge to groan. The child was as insufferable as her mother, and clearly his brother had done nothing to instill any sort of manners. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy her (to a point). Nadia was a clever little thing and had taken to him immediately, despite Rebekah's attempts at retail bribery and Kol's wishes to be the 'cool uncle'. Though she could be quite irritating when she was underfoot, she was convenient for chatting up women at a coffee shop and didn't have a penchant for ending up in dangerous situations, therefore not requiring much minding in comparison to Finn and Sage's hooligans.

"If you don't tell your mother I'll buy you two sweets at the corner store."

"Good deal, but Caroline would totally tell her anyway."

"Best get going then," Klaus said grumpily, wiping his hands off and unhooking his jacket from the rack by the door.

It was a short drive, and for the most part Nadia restrained herself from making a nuisance of herself. He was still relieved when they pulled up with a minute to spare at the address Katerina had provided, and Nadia practically sprinted to the front doors of the studio, Klaus following at a much slower pace, managing to catch sight of her as she hurtled around the corner at the end of the hallway and arriving at a door that was slightly ajar, the indistinguishable words of multiple overlapping conversations floating out.

When he entered, the first thing he saw was a group of what were most likely the girls' parents all chatting by the far wall where there were some chairs set up.

He pulled out his phone and leaned against the wall by the door, hoping that the hour-and-a-half lesson would go by more quickly than he expected. He began to look through his emails and was startled by a light throat clear beside him. When he turned to look, he saw a lithe blonde with a slight frown, her head tilted to the side.

"Are you visiting the studio?" she asked politely, and he couldn't help but notice the quick glance-over she gave him before her gaze returned to his face.

"Just dropping off my niece. I'm Klaus, and you must be Caroline," he said, pasting on his most charming dimpled smile and extending a hand. The hem of the loose dance slip ended just below her arse, the tights underneath clinging to her long legs, and he tried to be subtle as he took in the view from the mirror behind her.

He made a mental note to manipulate Katerina into asking him to take Nadia to lessons more often.

She seemed to have caught what he was doing from the unimpressed look she was currently giving him as she shook his hand. "I am. If you want to go sit over there with the rest of the parents, you're welcome to. I'll be starting in a minute."

"Of course, love," he said, and her eyes flashed at the endearment. She seemed to decide not to comment however, and he watched as she walked to the group of girls, directing them to warm-up positions.

He settled on a chair as far away as possible from all of the other parents, pulling out his phone and randomly switching pairs in Candy Crush as he watched Caroline start the lesson.

There was something about the way she moved that made him long for a paintbrush to put the image on canvas. Her movements were smooth and precise, but she still seemed light on her feet, almost gliding as she demonstrated some sort of turn. The girls all began to copy her and she weaved through them, speaking in low tones as she worked with them individually. He was surprised by how much he was drawn to the light in her eyes when she smiled, the warmth she exuded with every movement as she bent to gently redirect the girls' movements. He found himself wanting to make her look at him with that warmth, that genuine affection, though perhaps in a slightly different context...

She stiffened, and he somehow knew that she'd sensed him staring, though she didn't react, simply continuing to lead Nadia through a step-by-step process to execute the turn correctly.

Through the rest of the lesson he couldn't help but mentally map out a painting he'd do later of her body as it moved, of the dimple in her cheek when she smiled. He wondered how he'd manage to recreate the exact shade of blue of her eyes, whether he could even get close to recreating the specific tilt of her lips when she smiled, and he found himself reaching for the tiny notepad and pencil he kept in his coat pocket for when inspiration struck, his hands moving before he could stop them to outline her face.

He glanced at her every now and then for reference as he sketched, and his heart sped a bit in his chest when he looked up once for his eyes to connect with hers.

She held his gaze steadily, an almost challenging curve to her eyebrow, and he couldn't find it in himself to look away.

When the lesson was over he wasn't sure whether he was excited to get home to paint or disappointed to leave her presence, and he absently nodded along when Nadia suggested they stop at the corner store for a sweet, distracted by that intoxicating sound of Caroline's giggle as she spoke with one of the parents on the other side of the room.

He swallowed, finding himself almost _nervous_ to approach her, a feeling he hadn't experienced since he'd been a teenager. He told Nadia to stay where she was for a moment while he spoke to Caroline, and he walked purposefully to the other side of the room, waiting until Caroline had finished her conversation to speak.

She turned when he cleared his throat, bumping into his chest, and he caught her arm to steady her, her skin warm under his palm. "Hi," she said quietly, and it gave him some satisfaction that she was clearly as off-kilter by their chemistry as he was.

"Hello, love. I was wondering if you might like to accompany me to dinner? Tomorrow, perhaps?"

She stared at him for a second, her brow furrowed before she shook her head slowly. "You're related to a student. It wouldn't be professional."

He got the sense that she was truly regretful, that she wasn't using it as an excuse but instead truly felt like it was a conflict of interest, and he was slightly taken aback by the determination that welled inside of him to get her to agree. He'd long ago learned that getting attached was a certain road to disaster, and if a girl wouldn't give him the time of day it was best to move on, but something about Caroline made him want to get to know her.

"That wasn't a no."

She was quiet, clearly torn, before she spoke again. "I wish I could," she said with a small, genuine smile.

"I understand," he said, reaching to bring her knuckles to his lips, kissing them lightly. "I'll see you soon, Caroline."

She frowned, but he was already on the other side of the room, guiding Nadia towards the door and pulling out his phone.

He wasn't sure what the solution would be, since he thought that moving Nadia to a different studio wouldn't exactly endear him to her, but he fully intended to call Katerina and blackmail or bribe her into setting something up.

He wanted to learn what made her smile, what made her laugh. He wanted to see her body spread across his canvas and his sheets, to see her smile immortalized in his gallery and in his memories, and he realized that he was somehow already in very deep trouble.

"Uncle Nik?"

"Yes?"

"Did you just ask Caroline out?"

"Yes," he said, not seeing the point in lying or evading the question.

"Okay," she said, climbing into the back of his car and buckling her seatbelt. "Did she say yes?"

"She didn't say no."

"Okay," she repeated, staying quiet until they were out of the parking lot before speaking again. "You should date because then I'll get a better part in the Nutcracker this year."

"Oh, is that why?" he asked dryly. "Nepotism?"

"That and Mommy said she wanted you to get a girlfriend because you're a pain in the behind."

"Is that so?"

"Yep! Are we still going to the store? You just passed it."

"We are," he confirmed, doing a completely illegal U-Turn and pulling into the parking lot. "If you help me convince your mum to help me with Caroline, I'll get you an extra sweet next time I mind you."

"Deal."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought :D


	31. Kittens!

Summary: Klaus likes the girl in the dorm room next door who has a seemingly unending cold and a radiant smile.

Wrote this in like, half an hour on the bus for princess-of-the-worlds, so it's a little rough!

* * *

He'd been hooked on Caroline since move-in day when he'd offered to carry her things to her room for her and she saw right through it for what it was.

"If that was the opener to an attempt to get into my pants, you'll be sadly disappointed, but this minifridge is heavy," she'd said.

He'd helped her move in, introduced himself, asked her out for coffee anyway, nodded politely when she declined, accepting her insistence that if she wanted to graduate at the top of her class she wouldn't have time for dating, and barely restrained himself from suggesting a no-strings-attached alternative.

Of course, he had no intention of letting her go that easily. He watched her, learned her habits, and made sure to sit behind her in their lit class to (admittedly rather creepily) peer over her shoulder at her laptop screen. She seemed to browse clothing and shoe websites the most, though she also had a penchant for subtly playing tetris when things got extra-boring, but somehow still took copious notes. She preferred strawberry pop tarts during late at night study sessions (would eat blueberry on occasion but wrinkled her nose at cherry), obsessively cleaned her room every Wednesday, and seemed unnaturally susceptible to colds, contracting one practically every other week, and she was a rather loud sneezer.

He'd managed to worm his way into her life quite successfully under the guise of 'being neighborly'. He often found himself picking up an extra tea (some disgusting apple-cinnamon variety that he felt strongly _did not count as tea_ ) for her when he knew she was sick, and she'd scoff at his gestures, at his excuse that her sniffling was keeping him up at night, though there was always a tiny smile on her face despite what he suspected were her best efforts.

When she hadn't been sitting in their Tuesday lit class when he'd arrived, he'd made sure to take _actual_ notes rather than doodling to bring to her later.

Let it never be said that he did not take every attempt that presented itself to convince Caroline to make time for him in her busy schedule.

He knocked on the door and heard an odd scuffling sound before Caroline threw it open, dressed in a tank top and tiny sleep shorts, her nose red. "Hey," she croaked.

He made an effort not to drink in her long legs, the way the cloth of her top was riding up on her abdomen to reveal slips of skin, but he knew he'd failed, and she coughed, though he wasn't sure whether it was from the cold or to bring his gaze back to her eyes. "Hello, love," he said, pulling out his notebook and tearing off the two sheets of paper he'd taken notes on. "Here are the notes from today."

"You never take notes," she said, frowning and scanning them before peering up at him through long lashes. "But thanks. You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to."

She gave him a small smile before wincing at the thump coming from her closet, and he frowned. "Everything all right?"

"Um..." she said, wincing at the next thump and the small _meow_ that floated out of the closet. "Yeah. Totally fine."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She bit her lip before standing aside. "Come in. I don't want to have this conversation with you in the hallway."

He did, unable to resist looking around at Caroline's perfectly color-coordinated decorations, and his lips twitched when his eyes returned to Caroline, who was coaxing a cat out of her closet, where a small pet bed was set up. "You have a cat," he said slowly.

"Only for a day or two every other week," she said defensively. "He's very well behaved. You haven't noticed him and you live right next door. He's just excited. He was about to get a treat."

"Why?" he asked, trying not to wrinkle his nose as the thing came up and rubbed against him, purring quietly.

"The treat? Because it's actually a sedative. Otherwise he wouldn't be as well behaved," she said, and he recognized the oncoming rambling.

"No, I meant why do you have him."

"Oh, my friend has to go out of town a lot, and she leaves him with me when she does. Otherwise he gets loud and the neighbors get pissy."

"You know you're not allowed to have a cat, love. I could turn you in for that..." he said, trailing off when she raised her eyebrows pointedly. "...But I won't. In exchange for one small favor."

"A date?" she guessed, her lips twitching. "Blackmail isn't very neighborly, you know."

"I'm not very neighborly."

"Yeah, I gathered that from the constant 'I can't believe he's so nice to you' I've been getting from _literally everyone_ since day one," she said. "But fine. One date."

He grinned. "Just let me know when you're feeling up to it, love."

"I'm bringing him back to Kat tonight, so the allergies should clear up by tomorrow afternoon once I vacuum."

"You're allergic?"

"Yep! Hence the allergy symptoms."

"And you still take...it...every week?"

"He's a he, and yeah. It was only supposed to be twice, but Kat needs the help, and you bringing me tea every time was kind of sweet."

"Does that mean I didn't need the blackmail?" he teased.

"Oh, like you'd turn me in," she said, rolling her eyes. "As if."

"Well, thank you for making time in your busy schedule for me."

She looked him up and down before smiling slightly, her hand nervously tugging down the hem of her top. "If we have a good time, I might not be as busy as I originally thought I would be."

"Good to know. I'll do my best to make sure you have one," he said quietly, noting the shiver that ran down her spine at his words.

She cleared her throat. "Good. Sounds good. Um, so tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," he agreed.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought!


	32. Rule Number Four

I am very late in posting this, but I this is a pinch hit for princess-of-the-worlds for Klaroline Winter Wonderlland. It's a Harry Potter Fake Dating Auror/Hitwizard AU.

Summary: Caroline's latest auror mission is going undercover with her partner as a married couple in order to identify who tortured the muggle family in the neighboring town. It's all business as usual until her partner Enzo decides to use his vacation days during the mission. The ministry hires a hit wizard to take his place. Unfortunately, Caroline has hated said hit wizard since their fourth year at Hogwarts, and she has no intention of letting that change.

I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

"I am never going to forgive you for this. You know that right?"

"He's really not that bad, gorgeous."

"Um, he's the actual worst," Caroline said, glaring at who was _supposed to be_ her auror partner but had now shown his true colors as the worst kind of traitor. "This is a high risk mission and you expect me to believe _Klaus Mikaelson_ would have my back if this goes wrong?"

"I think you can handle two weeks without a disaster, Caroline."

"A two week undercover mission where we have to pretend to be _married._ Literally, I'd rather die of dragonpox."

"I don't understand why you hate him so much."

"I told you this. When we were in fourth year-"

"You were _fourteen_ , Caroline."

"Yeah, and it's been less than a decade. I need time," she said irritably, knowing that objectively she was being completely ridiculous, but all she could see whenever she was reminded of it was his jerky smug smirk and the blurring of her vision before she ran out of the Great Hall so that no one would see her cry.

"I think you're being a little unreasonable."

"He's not even an auror, Enzo!"

"Yes, he's a hit wizard. So, if you think about it, you'll be even safer."

"That's not the point. Hit wizards don't have any loyalty to the ministry. He's here for a paycheck. As long as we finish the mission he has literally zero reason to make sure I come out of it alive. In fact, he hates me as much as I hate him, so he has negative reasons."

"Now, love... We had a little spat, it's true, but I've gotten over it."

Caroline froze, her teeth gritting, and she turned slowly to face Klaus, who was leaning against the doorway like he fucking owned the place. He was dressed simply in a muggle henley and jeans, the fabric stretching over his lean chest and clinging to his legs in a way that would have been incredibly hot on anyone who wasn't such an asshole. She could feel her wand vibrating in her hand as it spat sparks, her nails biting into her palms as she tried to resist the urge to hex him outright.

"Well, that's nice for you. Congratulations," she bit out.

He pushed off the side of the doorframe in a smooth movement his heavy boots somehow silent on the ground as he took a few steps towards them, the way he moved somehow predatory despite the casual strides, and she let her feet root to the floor, refusing to cringe back. He reached out to shake Enzo's hand before turning to face her, sticking his hands in his pockets and giving her a cursory up-and-down glance that made her skin flush with anger. "Good to see you, sweetheart. You look lovely."

"Make one more comment about how I look and I'll report you to HR," she muttered, flipping her hair over her shoulder and crossing her arms over her chest.

"My apologies," he said, holding up his hands in what was clearly supposed to look like a gesture of surrender, though she caught a glimpse of the leather wand holster strapped to his wrist from the movement. "I simply thought that we should be trying to be a bit nicer to each other, considering our assignment."

Her hand twitched as she fought not to raise her wand and curse him with something particularly creative (she had no interest in getting fired, and loathe as she was to admit it, hit wizards were the best duelists in the world and he could _probably_ kick her ass if he tried), and Enzo cut in before she could do something stupid. "So, I'll be out for the next two weeks, but Bonnie's here if you need backup."

"Joy," Klaus muttered, and Caroline glared at him.

"Don't be a dick."

"Of course, sweetheart," he said with a gleamingly false smile, his tone saccharine.

"Well, I see this is off to a smashing start," Enzo said, picking up his bag and hauling it over his shoulder. "You're picking up your portkeys from Ric in about half an hour. You're both packed, yeah?"

Caroline and Klaus both muttered an affirmative, and Enzo sighed. "Don't murder each other, all right?"

"He's not worth Azkaban," Caroline said, ignoring Klaus's rather dramatic eyeroll.

"Not to worry, St. John, Caroline's quite safe with me."

Enzo nodded, giving Caroline a last wary glance before checking his watch and making his way out, and Caroline did a quick check to make sure they were alone before whirling on Klaus.

"Listen, buddy," she hissed, her eyes narrowed. "I'm up for a promotion, so you'd better not screw this up for me. I know how to make your life a living hell, and I one-hundred percent will if you ruin this."

"Got it, love."

"I have ground rules," she continued, ignoring Klaus's snort of derision. "Rule number one: No touching unless we're in public and it would look weird if we weren't. Rule number two: If you steal the covers or snore, I will hex you. Rule number three: Be a decent roommate or I _will_ kill you in your sleep. That means washing your dishes, picking up your clothes, and generally not making me live in filth. They teach cleaning charms in first year. It's not hard."

"I'm assuming Lorenzo wasn't the easiest to work with in the beginning?" Klaus asked dryly, and Caroline barely stopped herself from reassuring him that it had taken a good two years to fully train her partner to not leave his fucking _socks_ everywhere.

"Lorenzo is an angel who is ten times the partner you'll ever be," Caroline said, and Klaus shook his head.

"Whatever you say, love."

"That's the idea," she muttered, checking her watch and picking up her suitcase. "It's almost time to take the portkey."

She had almost made it to the door when Klaus called after her. "Caroline?"

"Yeah?" she asked irritably, turning to face him.

"What about my ground rule?"

She wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Rule number four: Don't fall in love with me, yeah?"

Her lip curled. "Yeah...that's not going to be a problem."

"Good." He gave her a dimpled smirk and gestured to the hallway. "Ladies' first."

XXX

Caroline groaned as she pushed herself up from the hardwood floor where the portkey had taken her, bristling at Klaus's chuckle from above her. She glared up at him, ignoring the hand he offered her to help her up and clambering to her feet, her legs still feeling slightly wobbly from the portkey travel.

"All right, love?"

"Fine," she muttered, fingercombing her hair and looking around the well-decorated living room. "This is nice."

Klaus hummed in agreement, sitting down on the squishy-looking leather couch across from the television set and setting his feet on the coffee table, leaning back against the cushions. Alaric had given them temporary glamours before they left to conceal their identities, and it was really weird seeing Klaus with a beard, his eyes changed to brown. The wickedness in his eyes didn't feel the same somehow. His eyes seemed to linger on her face as well, and she shifted self-consciously, feeling a little like she was under a microscope.

"I'm going to go find my bedroom."

He raised his eyebrows. "You mean our bedroom, love?"

"Whatever," she muttered, thankful for the featherlight charm on her suitcase making it easier to walk quickly down the hallway. She checked a few doors (bathroom, kitchen, and some sort of study) before arriving at the last one, which was clearly the bedroom.

She sighed in relief when she walked in and saw that the bed was absolutely massive, which meant that she and Klaus could easily have enough space to spread out and not end up touching. She had a tendency to seek warmth in her sleep, Enzo having complained more than once about her sleep-cuddling and ice cold feet, and she hoped that from the three feet between them she wouldn't end up accidentally snuggling into Klaus's arms.

Wouldn't _that_ be humiliating.

She unpacked all of her clothes before ducking into the bathroom, flinching when she saw her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands, the unfamiliar red hair and green eyes startling when she looked at herself. She tore her eyes away, walking out and closing the door behind her. "Do you want to order in? Ministry's dime, after all," Klaus asked, and she gathered herself, refusing to let him see her so uneasy.

"Spending taxpayer money on take-out is wasteful," she muttered, though she took the menu from him anyway, scanning it before deciding on potstickers and sesame chicken, telling him her order as she handed it back and settling against the couch cushions as far away from him as she could get. She watched as he dialed the number on the menu, a bit taken aback by how easily he operated the muggle phone, waiting until he hung up before speaking.

"So."

"Yes, love?"

"What's the plan?"

"Don't you have one?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, and she shrugged.

"I mean, the mission is basically just to find out who tortured those muggles, so I guess I'd say that we should put listening charms in the houses of the wizards and witches who live in town-Ric sent us with a list-and then have dicto-quills write down everything that they pick up. We'll go over them every night and see what we can find."

He rolled his shoulders, seeming to consider her answer for a moment before shrugging. "Seems like a good place to start."

She was a little taken aback at his easy agreement, but she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was her mission, after all. He was just filling in. Maybe he'd decided to be professional for once in his life.

Klaus turned on the television without another word, flipping through channels before settling on a muggle sport, his eyes eagerly following the ball as the players kicked it around the field. She was about to point out that she should get some input on what they watched as well when the doorbell rang.

"That was fast," she muttered, standing up, and she glanced through the peephole to see a young woman about her age in a puffy pink jacket holding a glass dish.

Caroline opened the door. "Hi," she said, trying not to sound too suspicious, ready to bring out her wand with a flick of her wrist.

"Hi! My name is Camille. I live next door! I saw that there was a move-in van here yesterday, so I brought a casserole."

"Um, thanks," Caroline said, taking the dish from Camille. "Do you want to come in?" she asked hesitantly, and Camille shook her head.

"Sorry, I can't right now. I'm just popping by on the way to pick up my niece from school."

"Oh, okay," Caroline said, a little relieved that she didn't have to fall into the role of Klaus's wife just yet. "Well, have a good-"

"You should totally come to our Christmas party next week, though! My husband holds it every year at our place. His parents own a logging company, so the house is kind of big. It's at 2 o'clock on Sunday."

"We'd love to," Klaus said from behind her, almost making her jump in surprise.

She watched as Camille gave Klaus a quick appreciative glance. "Great! Sorry, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Joseph," he said easily, his dimples cutting into his cheeks as he gave Camille a charming smile, and Caroline tried to look natural as Klaus slid an arm around her waist, his palm settling against her hip. She shifted as his thumb snuck under the hem of her top, stroking the skin of her waist. "This is Candice, my wife."

"It's nice to meet you," Camille said. "Well, anyway, you guys should come!"

"2 o'clock on Sunday!" Caroline repeated with as cheery a smile as she could muster. "It was so nice to meet you, Camille."

"You too! Bye!"

Caroline's smile was frozen on her face until she shut the door, shivering as Klaus's hand ghosted along her waist in a way that seemed completely deliberate before his arm fell away. She swallowed audibly, trying to be subtle as she took a step away from him and turned towards the kitchen, hurrying to get a glass of water, but she doubted it had looked at all casual.

Something about the simple contact of Klaus's thumb against her skin had shaken her, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

Whatever. All she had to do was get through this stupid mission, and she'd never have to see him again.

XXX

Caroline groaned softly from the unwelcome light against her eyelids as she shifted in the bed, her pillow too comfortably warm for her to contemplate disentangling herself.

And then her pillow let out a soft rumble, shifting underneath her.

Her eyes flew open, and she took a sharp breath as she realized that her cheek was settled against Klaus's chest, his heartbeat thumping rhythmically in her ear. She tried not to make any sudden movements, carefully ducking out from under his arm and back out of the bed as slowly as possible, watching with relief as Klaus let out a soft groan and rolled over.

Crisis averted.

She ran a hand through her hair, her heart still pounding from the adrenaline of almost being caught snuggling up to literally the _worst person ever_ (okay, maybe not _ever_ , but definitely in her graduating class). Her skin felt tingly, her nipples tight underneath her camisole, and she nearly groaned. Sure, it had nothing to do with her feelings or brain, obviously. It was perfectly understandable. She hadn't had sex in what felt like forever, and despite how much she hated Klaus, she had to admit that he was attractive.

More on the 'hot' end of the scale, even with the beard and eye glamour (which, honestly, was _so_ unfair).

She decided that a shower was in order, and she slipped out of the bedroom on light feet, letting the bathroom steam up before stepping under the spray, stretching as the hot water pounded against her back. It felt amazing, and she sighed in contentment, pressing her forehead against the cool tiles.

After a few minutes she managed to gather herself enough to actually go through the motions, lathering her hair and rinsing it before working the conditioner through her now-red curls, trying to ignore how weird the shade looked against her hand. She let herself linger for a few more minutes, only turning off the water when her fingers started to prune, and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel, swearing under her breath when she realized that she'd forgotten to take clothes in with her.

Luckily, Klaus wasn't in their room when she tiptoed back in, and in the middle of toweling her hair dry she froze, closing her eyes as she caught the scent of bacon wafting from the kitchen. She dressed quickly, waving her wand to detangle and dry her hair before pulling it up into a ponytail, the hair tie still held between her teeth as she walked into the kitchen, smoothing the hair down against her head.

She swallowed audibly at the sight of Klaus's bare back as he looked out the window with a mug of tea, a spatula flipping bacon on the stove without assistance. There was a triangle tattoo that he most definitely hadn't had back at Hogwarts (she'd seen him shirtless a handful of times in the Quidditch locker room), and she licked her lips without thinking about it, wondering how his skin would taste under her tongue...

She mentally shook herself, trying to figure out where the fuck _that_ came from, and she quickly looked away when he met her eyes, his lips quirking.

"Morning, love."

"Hi," she muttered, thankful that her voice didn't come out as breathless as her lungs felt.

"Sleep well?" he asked, and she flushed. His expression was innocent, and she could almost believe that he didn't know she'd woken up snuggled against him if it wasn't for the tiniest glint of laughter in his eyes. Still, she decided that plausible deniability was the way to go and shrugged, walking to the coffee maker.

"Yeah. Fine. Did you make coffee?"

"Afraid not. Can't stand it."

She busied herself with the coffeemaker, grumpy at her lack of caffiene, and she could feel his eyes on her as she moved. "You're staring," she muttered, and he chuckled.

"Sorry, love. Couldn't resist."

She was suddenly reminded of how much she hated his arrogant ass, and she nearly growled, slamming the lid of the coffee maker a bit harder than necessary. "Don't," she bit out, glaring at him.

He met her eyes without any hesitation, bringing his tea to his lips as though he'd said the most normal thing in the world. "Just admiring my wife."

She wrinkled her nose. "You're honestly disgusting. Did you know that?"

"I've been told a few times, usually by you," he said dryly, and she gave him a humorless smile.

"Well, maybe you should take a hint."

"It's hardly a hint if you say it outright."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So, I was thinking that we could each try to set a few listening charms on one or two of the suspects' houses today. Is that okay with you?"

He nodded, still watching her with those annoyingly perceptive eyes, and she averted her gaze, glaring at the coffeemaker and willing it to go faster.

"I'll take the Parkers, the Petrovas, and the Salvatores if you do the St. Claires, the de Martels, and the Martins?"

"Sounds like a plan, love."

She bristled, resisting the urge to scold him for petnames and instead grabbing a mug from the cabinet as the coffee-maker beeped and putting some cold tap water in before filling the rest with coffee, Klaus watching her with barely concealed disgust. "What?" she asked irritably.

"Coffee," he muttered, as though the word explained everything. "Honestly..."

She glared at him, chugging the entire cup and turning to pour more tap water in before filling it again and walking out of the kitchen, ignoring his chuckle behind her.

She took a deep breath. Just thirteen more days. It wasn't that long. She could survive thirteen more days, right?

XXX

Caroline nearly groaned as she woke up, yet again, in Klaus's arms. He hadn't mentioned anything yet, and she figured that if he had known he would have by now just to give her shit about it. She was lucky that he seemed to be such a heavy sleeper, and she'd had to stop herself from lingering in his arms just because of how comfortable it was, hating herself for even having the temptation.

It was the fifth day and they'd fallen into a routine. Caroline would get up and shower, Klaus making breakfast, coffee, and tea while she was occupied. She'd check to see if the dicto-quills from the listening charms they'd planted had caught anything overnight while he showered, and then they'd sit in the living room together and keep an eye on the listening charms while they amused themselves in a comfortable silence. Klaus had brought some sort of sketchbook and sat on the couch with it, occasionally watching a 'football' game if it was on. Caroline would scroll through Snidget, one of the wizarding social media sites (though she couldn't post anything while undercover), or watch whatever muggle television show was on if it looked interesting.

They had lunch together, and she'd reluctantly begun to have full conversations with Klaus, at first justifying it because she had nothing else to do, and then finally admitting to herself that he was actually an acceptable person when he wasn't either being a disgusting flirt or a huge snob. She convinced him to tell her a few stories from his hit wizard jobs and she found them fascinating, the culture around the profession so different from aurors that it was almost hard to wrap her mind around. Because they weren't employed by the government unless they were working as short-term contractors, hit wizards had a lot more wiggle room with legality of magic, and they didn't have as much to worry about if the Prophet got wind of them fighting dirty. He'd also hinted that he'd had a few jobs that weren't quite legal, and though she burned with curiosity she knew that she shouldn't open that can of flobberworms.

The morning passed relatively quickly despite nothing of note happening with the dicto-quills. The muggle television was having some sort of marathon where they showed all the episodes of a reality show called 'Big Brother' in order. Caroline found herself fascinated by these muggles who were willing to lock themselves together in a house and do pointless challenges for money. And they were all so _dramatic_. Like, she thought she had been a nightmare as a teenager, but she had nothing on these people (who were actual adults, too).

She made them sandwiches for lunch, and she was all ready to poke Klaus for more stories to pass the time when he gave her a piercing look that made her spine straighten. "What have you been up to since graduation then, love?"

"Nothing really," she said, shrugging. "Auror school. I got an apartment and a crup, too. His name is Tyler and he's super adorable. Bonnie's watching him while I'm away."

Klaus's lips twitched. "Sounds nice."

She shrugged. "I mean, it's okay. Work is really busy, obviously, so at least I have things to do."

"I suppose," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich and chewing thoughtfully, and she nearly choked on hers at his next words. "Seeing anyone?"

"What?" she choked out after swallowing.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he repeated.

"None of your business," she said, irritation swelling within her.

"Just wondering," he said, and his casualness made her bristle, her nose wrinkling.

"God, I was actually starting to like you and you ruined it," she muttered, though there was no real bite to her tone, and she only realized what she'd said when she saw Klaus's face.

"Beg pardon, love?" he asked, his lips curling into a slow smile, and she gritted her teeth.

"Don't. Seriously."

"No, I think I heard that you're getting a bit more fond of me."

"Stockholm syndrome," she muttered, taking another bite of his sandwich and refusing to meet his eyes, and he laughed.

"Whatever you say, love."

She felt her cheeks going red, and she took a sip of ice water hoping to cool down. It didn't work, and she finished the rest of her sandwich quickly before muttering that she was taking a walk. She knew she was being entirely unsubtle, but she didn't like the way he looked at her, like he _knew_ what was going on inside of her mind, the indecision she was facing.

She'd promised herself that she'd hate him forever after what he'd said about her. Sure, it was incredibly stupid and petty, and honestly she'd gossiped about worse, but she still remembered the humiliation of walking into the Great Hall and having everyone's eyes swivel to look at her, the whispers passing through the hall.

She knew that she'd changed a lot since she was a teenager and Klaus obviously had too, but that didn't mean that she'd forgiven him, or even that she had to. Sure, he was charming and funny and hot, but he was also kind of an asshole and really smug and arrogant. He was a hit wizard who dabbled on the wrong side of the legal line, and he was _dangerous_. Every move he made screamed 'bad idea' in capital letters. And yet...

She remembered his face less than a week ago, the way his dimples cut into his cheeks as he smirked at her, the words that he spoke before she left in a huff.

 _Don't fall in love with me, yeah?_

She wasn't in love with him. Not even close. But she was starting to see his good qualities, the few that he had anyway, and it was super inconvenient.

She grumpily kicked a pebble down the sidewalk.

 _Don't fall in love with me._

God fucking damnit...

XXX

"This is our chance to see if any of the wizards in the town aren't muggle-friendly," Caroline said as she stuck earrings through her lobes and reached for her lipstick. She heard Klaus say something through the doorway but didn't catch it, and once she was done touching up her make-up she stuck her head out.

"What?" she asked, her breath catching in her throat when she saw Klaus with his shirt half-buttoned, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, necklaces resting against his chest.

His lips were moving, but she didn't quite process what he said, and she closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Sorry, say that again?"

"I said that I'm sure it'll be relatively simple to discern anyone with anti-muggle leanings. We'll simply act like we hold the same values," he repeated, and she fought down a blush at the note of laughter in his voice, nodding. It was a good idea even if the idea of acting even slightly like a blood-supremacist made her stomach twist.

"Okay. When do you think you'll be ready?"

"Just a moment," he said, turning back to the mirror by the dresser and finishing buttoning up his shirt before turning back to her. She crossed over without thinking about it and fixed his collar, her hands sliding down his chest and lingering for a moment before she pulled away.

He watched her with slightly parted lips and dark eyes, and she felt a heady rush of satisfaction that he was clearly as into her as she was into him. His eyes dragged up and down her body, drinking in her cocktail dress and heels before flicking up to linger on her face, darting down to her lips for just a moment. She knew that she should probably feel objectified, but instead it felt...oddly empowering.

"You look beautiful," he said, and she wasn't sure whether he realized that the words had come out of his mouth.

"Thanks," she said lightly, stepping away and glancing at the bedroom door. "Ready to go?"

He nodded, and they walked downstairs together, Klaus helping her into her coat and holding open the door for her. As soon as they walked outside, his hand was pressed to the small of her back, guiding her to the house next door, which Camille had indicated to as being hers.

Caroline knocked, pasting on her best smile, and Camille opened the door almost immediately, standing aside to let them in. "Candice! Joseph! It's good to see you," she said, pulling them each into a warm hug, her hand lingering for just a bit too long on Klaus's back in a way that made Caroline's eye twitch.

"Nice to see you too," she cut in, her hand wrapping possessively around Klaus's bicep. "Why don't you introduce us to your _husband_."

Camille flushed slightly, clearly realizing she'd been caught out, and gave Caroline a sheepish smile before leading them through the house, pointing out a lanky man with piercing blue eyes and a smarmy smile who looked like he probably had a fedora collection. "This is Damon," she said, and Caroline gave him as warm a smile as she could muster, noting how disgusting she felt when he looked at her.

"Pleasure," Damon said, bringing Caroline's knuckles to his lips, and she saw Klaus twitch beside her as though he was ready to pull out his wand. "Candice, I assume?"

"Yes, and this is Joseph," Caroline introduced, watching as Damon and Klaus had some sort of macho stare-off while they shook hands. She exchanged an exasperated ' _ugh, men_ ' look with Camille before Klaus offered to get her a drink.

She, Damon, and Camille made small talk, chatting about the town and what sorts of events were held, and Caroline finally found a natural time to sneak in a question about the muggles when Camille talked about the annual food drive they ran for the muggle neighborhood nearby.

"You know, while Joseph and I were thinking of moving in we saw a newspaper article about someone torturing a family nearby," Caroline said quietly, trying to keep her tone neutral.

She saw Damon's eyes flash with surprise at her words, though Camille just sighed, looking genuinely sad. "It was awful. I just...those poor people. It's not their fault they don't have any magic. I can't imagine what kind of person would do something like that."

"We can't spend all our time being sad for other people, Cami," Damon said, rubbing her back, though there was something in his faux-sympathetic drawl that set Caroline on edge. "You're too nice for your own good."

Honestly, if this was Camille's husband she understood why her mind was on literally anyone else.

Oddly, Camille didn't seem to find his comment condescending, instead giving him a soft smile, one that viscerally gave Caroline the impression of watching Red Riding Hood unknowingly looking into the eyes of a wolf, and she felt a bit sick. She was about to try to casually press Damon for more details when Camille huffed, rolling her eyes. "Ugh. God, again?" she muttered, and Caroline followed Camille's line of vision to see Klaus by the buffet table talking to a brunette. Though he'd look relaxed to anyone else, Caroline had learned to read Klaus's posture through their seven years at school together and then the past week living in the same house, and she could tell that he was tense.

"Who's that?" Caroline asked, trying not to sound too irritated, and Camille sighed.

"Sorry," Camille said to Caroline. "Hayley's kind of a flirt, especially when she's had a few drinks. I'm not actually sure that she knows it to be honest. I think she genuinely just thinks she's being nice."

Caroline had only known Damon for about five minutes and was already loathe to agree with him on anything, but he seemed to have a point about Camille thinking the best of everyone.

"Please excuse me," Caroline muttered, figuring it would be out of character to not go 'rescue' her 'husband'.

She wasn't jealous at all.

Actually, she was past the point of denial, she decided. She was totally jealous.

"Joseph," she called as she walked over, and she nearly laughed at how relieved Klaus looked when she arrived. She was about to ask for an introduction when he bent to brush his lips against hers, his stubble lightly scratching her cheek as he pulled away before she could respond.

"Hello, sweetheart. I was just talking to...Hallie? Was it?"

"Hayley," the girl corrected, an icy smile on her face as she glanced at Caroline.

"I'm Candice," Caroline said quickly, sticking out her hand for Hayley to shake. "Joseph's wife."

"Nice to meet you," Hayley said, and Caroline gave her an icy smile.

"You too," she said, turning to Klaus, who handed her a glass of champagne. "Ready to meet more of our new neighbors?" she asked brightly, and Klaus knocked back an entire glass of champagne in one go, setting it on a nearby waiter's tray.

"If we must."

It felt like forever before they managed to get back to their house, and Caroline groaned when she realized it was approaching two in the morning. She was barely awake enough to take off her makeup before falling into bed, and she was almost asleep when Klaus spoke.

"You were jealous."

"Yep," she muttered, too tired to argue.

"Why?"

"I like you," she said, resisting the urge to tack on ' _you idiot'_.

There was a long enough pause before Klaus spoke that she almost regretted saying it out loud. "I fancy you as well."

"Okay. Good. Glad we're clear."

"Dinner when we get back, then?"

She nearly laughed at how weirdly hopeful he sounded. "Yeah. Just like...prove to me that you're not a shit person, okay?"

"I'm not a shit person," he said, so clearly offended that this time she did laugh.

"Fine. You're not nice, though."

"You're right, and I doubt I'll change. Will that be a problem?"

She mulled it over for a second. "No. It's actually kind of hot. In moderation."

"Hot?" he asked, clearly amused.

"Yeah. When you leaned against the doorframe at my office I kind of wanted to jump you. Just saying."

He laughed, and she felt his hand rest on her waist, the touch making her skin burn. "I wouldn't say no."

"Neither would I, but I'm tired, and I pictured doing it when we were much more awake."

"You've thought about us before, then?" he asked, his tone so smug that she kind of wanted to punch him.

"Klaus, it's like three in the morning. Can we not have this conversation right now?"

"Tomorrow, then."

She groaned, almost sure that the conversation had been a dream, considering that Klaus didn't seem like the sort of person who was very forthright with his feelings. "Yes. Sure. Tomorrow. Goodnight."

He chuckled, the sound sending a warmth through her that made her grin in spite of herself. "Goodnight, Caroline."

XXX

"Good morning, love," Klaus murmured, and Caroline's eyes flew open, her breath catching when she realized that she was securely in Klaus's arms, their legs tangled together (as usual), but he was awake.

"Hi," she squeaked. "Sorry, um, can you-"

"You wake up every morning in this position, sweetheart. I don't know why you're surprised," he said, and she flushed bright red.

"I thought you were asleep," she muttered, only realizing when she heard herself say the words how silly the explanation sounded, and Klaus laughed quietly.

"It's possible that I may have wanted an excuse," he said, flashing the same smug, dimpled grin that he always did when he felt like he was winning.

"You're not allowed to do that," she muttered, pushing him away and scooting back to her side of the bed.

"Do what, love?"

"Do...that. Be like, _nice_. And act like you like me."

"I do like you. Fancy you, even," Klaus said impatiently. "I told you that last night."

"That wasn't a dream?" she muttered, and Klaus scoffed.

"Do you wish it were?" he asked, sounding a bit exasperated, and she quickly turned to face him.

"I mean, _no_ ," she said, trying to gather her thoughts, wondering why they couldn't have this conversation when she was caffeinated. "And like, I'm not saying that I don't reciprocate or whatever, but-"

She was interrupted by a loud crash on the bottom floor followed by someone hissing a stream of expletives, and she and Klaus exchanged a panicked look before Klaus put a finger to his lips to motion her to be quiet before grabbing his wand off the nightstand. She followed suit, despite his warning glance clearly indicating for her to stay where she was (she was a licensed auror, and if he thought he was fighting anyone alone when they were on a mission _together_ then he was a bigger idiot than she thought).

"Well, I guess I've announced myself," Damon's voice said from downstairs, the distinctive arrogant drawl making Caroline's skin crawl. "Don't bother trying to leave. I put apparition wards up around the property. If you're wondering how I found you, I knew it from the second you asked about the newspaper article. You're _aurors_..."

"Oh, excellent. A gloater," Klaus muttered, reaching to grab his discarded jeans from beside the hamper and pulling them on. "You'll have time to get dressed then, love. He'll most likely go on about his evil plans for another minute or so. At least we know that he's the one. Where are your cuffs?"

She huffed, throwing off the covers and clambering out of bed, bending over her suitcase to rifle through it, catching Klaus looking at her in the mirror. "Can you stop staring at my ass?" she muttered, finally finding the handcuffs. "It's rude."

"I was under the impression that you didn't mind."

She flushed. "That's a conversation for later," she muttered, stalking past him. "Come on. We have a bigot to arrest."

She heard Klaus laugh behind her as they went down the stairs, Damon still shouting about all of the protections he put around the house, and Caroline took him out with a silent-cast stunning charm, nudging Damon's body with her toe when he fell to the floor. "Idiot," she muttered, bending down to snap the cuffs on his wrists. "Would you be willing to pack up while I take him to the ministry?"

"Trying to escape already?" Klaus asked, clearly going for a teasing tone, though she heard the edge of insecurity under it, and she shook her head, standing up.

"I meant what I said last night. Every word," she said quietly.

"That you want me to prove to you that I'm not a 'shit person'?" Klaus asked, his lips twitching.

"Yeah. And that I want to jump you," Caroline said, savoring the look of pleased surprise on Klaus's face as she grabbed Damon's unconscious body by the handcuffs. "See you back at the ministry?"

"And afterwards, if you'd be willing. Perhaps you'll be a bit more awake?"

Caroline grinned, getting ready to activate the portkey that would take her back the ministry. "Perhaps," she teased, pressing the button.

 **Four months later...**

Caroline woke up to light streaming through the window, her cheek pressed against her boyfriend's chest. He was breathing deeply, but she knew he wasn't asleep. She shifted to face him, smiling slightly when she caught his eye and cupping his cheek, leaning up to kiss him. "Morning," she said, her voice gravelly.

"Morning, love. Hungry?"

"Mmhm," she said, making a soft sound of discomfort when he disentangled himself, leaving her cold, and she watched as he left his bedroom, closing her eyes again when she heard the clink of the coffeepot in the kitchen. She let herself doze for a few more minutes before finally pushing herself out of bed, padding to the kitchen to see him filling a mug with a bit of tap water before filling it the rest of the way with coffee, handing it off to her with a yawn before pouring hot water over his teabag and bringing it to his lips.

It was such a normal thing at this point, Klaus's eyes clearing a bit more with every sip as they sat in silence, enjoying their morning routine, and she abruptly realized that she wouldn't mind doing this for awhile. Possibly for the rest of her life?

"I broke rule four," she blurted out suddenly, her brain not caffeinated enough for a filter, and Klaus looked confused for a second before setting his mug down, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"Me too, sweetheart."

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought with a review. It's the only way I know what you're thinking. Favorite parts or lines? Did it feel too rushed? Was the relationship okay? Reviews are inspiring and help me push out more content!


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